


Unrequited

by yeterah



Category: A Way Out (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, so if you love ya boi, this is the fic for you! :DD, this whole fic will be in the POV of Leo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-07-06 13:36:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15887100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeterah/pseuds/yeterah
Summary: Leo Caruso's life is quite a mess. It becomes even more of a mess when he meets Vincent Moretti.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> sooooo one day i was bored, aaaand *boom* 
> 
> i'll try to make this fic as juicy and entertaining as possible for y'all, and i'll also try to update as much as possible. don't wanna leave this fic to rot in a dark corner, so, yeah! i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i'll enjoy writing it! :DD

Leo was a solitary man in jail, unwilling to make any friends. Unwilling to trust anyone. He figured it was best. Don't bother anyone and they won't bother you. Even with that mentality, he kept up the "tough guy" act, to assure no one would pester or test him. He fought when he had to, or when he thought it was necessary.

 

That's how it was today, just being a regular old Joe, resting quietly onto a fence, distanced from the rest of the inmates. He was in his own solitary space among the cluster of prisoners scattered about the courtyard.

 

He heard a motor vehicle pull up into the jailhouse, then the commotion ensued, the clustered groups moving speedily to the front gate to see to see the new group of prisoners to be living a life of hell for the rest of their sentences. At first, Leo wasn't going to indulge, until he heard the uproar intensify, interrupting his catnap. He scowled on his way to the brouhaha, standing in the middle of two groups, one chanting "you ain't gon' last a day in here", to which Leo concurred, the other, a group of fags grinding onto the gate. Leo scooted a bit far from them, his face twisting.

 

He darted his eyes about the men dispersing off the dark bus, the feds directing them inside the jailhouse. Leo glanced at every man: a black man with flashy clothes, a pimp, a hippie, a guy with a goatee, and a hefty bald dude. No one interesting.

 

With that, he parted from the gate, deciding it was best to go inside. He's had enough sun for the day. On his way, he couldn't help but notice an intense fist fight to his right, being abruptly halted by the fuzz arriving with their billy clubs and such. Typical. He forged onward.

 

He came to a stop, however, noticing a rather frightened black-haired boy against the brick wall, white as the clouds. He looked young, so of course the "wiser" man felt a bit of sympathy for him.

 

"Hey, you okay?" he questioned. The boy looked up at him, the older of the two just noticing his ragged breathing, how much he was shaking.

 

"Shit, dude! That fight out there? It was brutal! I could hear bones crack."

 

Must've never been in prison. Poor boy must be terrified out of his mind.

 

"Prison life, man."

 

"I guess you're right, but people fight in here every damn day!" the fellow inmate preached. "It's way too crazy in this joint."

 

"Sleep, eat, fight," Leo proclaimed. "I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it."

 

"Oh man, I can't get used to that! I can't even fight."

 

 _Welp, he's fucked_. "You better learn fast then," Leo urged, walking away, but not before hearing the boy whimper how much of a dead man he was. He wasn't wrong. Inexperienced men get killed in the joint all the time. Too bad the young man'll be joining them.

 

Finally, he entered the hellhole after getting searched, about to chill out in his damp and cold cell, but not before getting jammed against a wall.

 

Leo acted fast. His immediate reaction was to retaliate, shoving back. He looked up at whoever had harassed him, finding it to be Dragomir, one of Harvey's goons.

 

 _Of-fucking-course._ He scowled at the man, about to put up a fight, but a fed emerged onto the scene, immediately putting a stop to what was about to start.

 

The grotesque Russian man grinned at Leo, his teeth disturbingly yellow.

 

"Harvey sends his regards," he teased, causing a rise in rage inside Leo.

 

"Fuck you, and him!" he spat, watching the harasser tromp away. He was happy he did. He didn't want to fight, for Dragomir faintly frightened him, something he was unwilling to admit. He let out a relaxed breath, thanking the heavens, if there were a heaven, before continuing his path to his destination.

 

By the time he reached the opening to the second floor of the prison, a line of wet and naked men emerged below him, the warden following a couple of seconds later. He looked for a moment, feeling bad for what was in store for each man. He was going to stop and watch, his curiosity striking him, but became uninterested when he found one of the men staring at him: the bud with the goatee.

 

He stared back for only a second, getting slightly uncomfortable at how hard the man seemed to be observing him. Leo backed away from the railing, continuing his sallying. He felt the man's eyes on him as he walked, causing Leo's skin to crawl _. 'The fuck was he looking at?_

 

Leo didn't dwell on it too much though. It was too common to think into it too hard, men ogling him. Still, when it did happen, it always bothered him. Didn't liked to be stared down by creeps. It sent chills down his spine, but meanwhile made him want to deck said creep in the jaw.

 

"Hey Leo," a voice called to him, causing him to stop in his path. He looked to his left, finding an inmate trying to speak to him, leaning up against the bars of his cell.

 

"'Sup?"

 

"Looks like you got yourself a new neighbor."

 

Curious, he asked whom, to which the man responded: "I dunno' man. Some white guy."

 

 _Very helpful_. "Thanks for the update."

 

"Yeah, no problem."

 

After what seemed like forever, Leo finally made it to his destination, getting shoved inside. He urged to know what was up with the pig, pushing him into his cell like he didn't know where to go. He has been in there for six months, he knows the fucking routine, he told the fed, but he didn't answer. Just ordered cell 49 to be closed.

 

Leo rolled his eyes, about to go to his desk and jot something down, anything, but not before noticing one of the new fishes was to be neighboring him. Unfortunately, it was the guy who spooked him a bit just a few moments ago, making him groan.

 

_He better keep his fucking distance._

 

\-----

 

After being granted the time outside in the prison yard, Leo returned to his signature spot, leaning against the fence. He minded his business, observing the crowded courtyard before shutting his eyes to get lost in his thoughts. It was his way to pass by time. There wasn't anything better to do in that shithole.

 

"Hey Leo," he heard someone, interrupting him. He scowled at the man walking up to him, getting tired of being bothered every other moment.

 

"What?" he spat.

 

"Someone wants to talk to you."

 

"Yeah? Who?"

 

"I dunno' man," the inmate spoke, then pointed behind him. "He's over there. That's all I know."

 

Leo sighed. He definitely didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment, or at any moment, but he kept his agitation to himself, his eyes following the fellow inmate's index finger until they stopped at the basketball court just a floor below them.

 

 _'Guess that's where I need to go_. He stood from the fence towering behind him and made his way to where his presence was requested.  _This shit better be fucking good_.

 

Without warning, both of his arms were pulled behind him in a tight hold, restraining him. He jarred his head behind him to find two bastards holding him back. He shouted at them both to let him go.

 

"There you are," he heard Dragomir's voice before him, causing him to dart his eyes at the man, his stomach dropping. Great, of course he's been caught up in some bullshit. "It's time to play."

 

The Russian man thrust his fist into Leo's stomach then, causing a spread of shooting pain in his abdomen. Despite being terrified out of his mind, he stood his ground, his neck throbbing with veins.

 

"'The fuck do you want?!" he screamed at the burly man, grinning at him with that same wicked smile that haunted him.

 

"It's not about what I want, it's about what Harvey wants."

 

That name irked him almost instantly, causing red to blotch his face. "That piece of shit better be happy he's on the outside!"

 

"He might be on the outside, but he still pays me good," Dragomir grinned. "Fact is, he pays me really good to kill you, and I don't really like you, so it's a win-win situation for me."

 

Leo's terror crept up on him again at that. He's heard a lot of death threats, but one from that fuck, he meant it. Dragomir wasn't all talk, which frightened him to death. He would try to fight back, but he knew the odds were against him.

 

His lack of fight caused him another blow, this time square in his enlarged nose, an easy target. The world turned white for a moment, a loud ring in his ear substituting the stir around him. The world look bleary when his sight was regained, and he could feel fluid drip down his upper lip.

 

Well, that's it then. He's dead. He took another blow, left side of his head.

 

After the ringing and white went away a second time, he saw the burly Russian man faced away from him, looking at a man who'd been shoved into the court by the spectators outside. Couldn't see exactly who it was, for Dragomir's brutish body was blocking his view.

 

But who it was wasn't important. Leo was just happy Dragomir had finally got distracted, allowing him an opportunity to finally stand his ground.

 

He shoved his head forward at one of Dragomir's men, clashing with the man's forehead, leaving him to fall back on the pavement. His head throbbed after that, but it didn't matter. He punched the other, and that's when the brawl had commenced.

 

Leo had great strength, so naturally he got past the swarm of men throwing fists and kicks at him, knocking one out with a jarring punch and the other with an uppercut. Another one, this lanky man, tried doing what looked like a karate chop, if that was what you would call it, and Leo, by reflex, dodged it effortlessly, counterattacking with powerful kick to his pelvis, bringing him down. Leo almost snickered at his reaction.

 

He turned to his right to find Dragomir darting toward him, and Leo felt his body lock up.

 

_Fuck, now isn't the time!_

 

His fright costed him a strike to the face, rattling his body. He got another strike after that, aimed at his enlarged nose again.

 

Leo knew if he stood still any longer, he'd be knocked out soon, so he acted fast, shoving him against the gate behind him, laying as much blows as possible to his bearded face. Dragomir counterattacked, throwing his seemingly giant fist in Leo's drenched face, but luckily he dodged it, continuing to pound his fist in the burly man's face.

 

They kept at it for a while, both men popping the other, legs kicking, fingers finding something to claw at. The Russian man was the dominate one in the brawl for a while, and Leo saw that. He did the next best thing: he grabbed the man and threw him to the bleachers behind the pair, forcing Dragomir in a sitting position before him.

 

Leo stuck him as much as he could with as much strength he could muster, the blood shooting out of Dragomir's nose, until he shoved the active man away, his back clashing with another inmate's.

 

He jarred his head behind him to see if it was another henchmen to beat the hell out of, but it wasn't. It was one of the fresh meat, the man with the goatee. He noticed he was fighting alongside him.

 

Leo would've questioned why he was there, if he had the ability to. Dragomir had came back, aiming for his aching body to treat like a punching bag, but Leo retaliated once again, dodging a blow to the head and booting him in his abdomen.

 

Leo jarred his head behind him once more to look at the other inmate who was going to war with him, but saw another henchman advance on Leo, throwing his clenched fist at his face. He swiped the hand away, popping him in the head. The burly man emerged out of nowhere then, kicking at Leo, but he was quick, smiting him a couple of times in his face and giving him a headbutt for good measure.

 

Thankfully after a good while, the feds arrived just at the right moment, when the brawl was beginning to take its toll on Leo's body. The whistles blared and that's when the fight came to an end. The two men broke apart.

 

A cop forged his way into the basketball court. "Order!" he belted out. "Break it up before I put you all in solitary! Go on!"

 

Leo scowled at Dragomir, his blood curling at his comment. "You better watch your back," he warned.

 

Leo was about to walk away, but not before noticing the new fish, who was standing near the exit, battered with his hand on his aching stomach.

 

He pointed a finger in his face. "Stay the hell away from me, okay?"

 

He warned him, for that bastard seemed to be appearing wherever he was. Leo couldn't deny it drove him mad, feeling a pair of eyes on him at every turn, and finding him close by everywhere he looked. Leo made sure the creep knew not to even think about fucking with him.

 

With that, he marched away, as if the previous indulgence didn't leave him aching in pain. He couldn't help but feel the new fish's eyes on him as he strolled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy! :^))

Even after weeks had passed from the intense brawl, Leo was still in a sour mood. Who could blame him, being thrown into war like that? He definitely could have died because some idiot led him into a trap, and Leo took it like bait. It was all Leo's naivety that left him in that fucked-up position. He was terribly irritated by the fact.

 

Naturally, he entered the canteen with a glower. He got the occasional look and quiet murmur, for the brawl three weeks earlier gave him popularity that irked him. He tried not to go off on every person that ogled him or whispered about him.

 

He came to stop to find two Mexican men blocking the line. He wanted to punch them both. Common sense would've told their dumbasses not to fucking stand there to have a conversation. Still, he remained cordial.

 

"How 'bout you two lovebirds have a chat somewhere else?" he teased. "I wanna eat."

 

"Hey," one man turned to face his friend. He furrowed his brow. "Is someone talking?"

 

"No," his friend shook his head. "I don't hear anyone!"

 

The latter man frowned in Leo's face. "Me neither."

 

_Oh, so it's like that, huh?_

 

"Guys, don't fuck with me when I'm hungry, okay?" Leo warned. He didn't want to fight or be bothered. He was agitated enough.

 

"Oooh, we got a tough guy over here," the man continued to tempt, his friend concurring: "Sure looks like it!"

 

"Alright," the man began. "What are you gonna do about it, gringo?"

 

Leo arched his brow. "How 'bout this?"

 

He propelled his fist in the man's gut, making his friend do the surrendering for him. They hurriedly removed themselves from Leo's path.

 

_Finally. Bastard was asking for it._

 

He strolled in the lunch line, his face twisting at what the cafeteria worker had slammed before him on his tray.

 

"Is that it?" he belched.

 

"Yeah, what do you think this is? A goddamn restaurant?"

 

Leo was going to respond with a smart-ass answer until..

 

"HEY YOU! HERE I COME!"

 

Leo spun his head around to find Dragomir hurling toward him with a giant blade in his hand. Leo’s panic allowed him the ability to stop the blade from puncturing him, leading him to be pinned onto the counter top behind him, pushing with all his might at his assassin’s threatening hand.

 

Despite his efforts, the knife kept inching closer to his face. Leo could've sworn he was having a panic attack at that moment.

 

**_Fuckfuckfuckfuck-_ **

 

Suddenly, the Russian man was yanked out of his space, like someone had pulled him off. Good thing for that. Leo would stop to thank whoever did, but he was too focused on trying to get away from the man who saw red. He slid over the counter and jogged inside the kitchen, Dragomir following him. Leo grabbed the nearest object and swung it at him, but he dodged it.

 

The herculean man then swung his blade at Leo, the inmate circling around him enough to grasp at Dragomir's shoulder and drag him across the kitchen, throwing him to the wall, his head making abrupt contact with it.

 

Leo let him go and backed up as far as he could, but not before noticing someone walking inside the area too, fighting off goons just like Leo was. He looked at the mystery man, only to find it was the goatee man again.

 

They met eyes for a moment, Leo furrowing his brow at how he always seemed to be aiding him all the time. Was he a guardian or something?

 

Leo would've pondered more had Dragomir not inched near him like a serial killer, passing a knife to one of his aides on the other side of the area. Now the goatee man was gonna die too.

 

They both did what they thought was wise at the time, grabbing whatever was near them and thrusting it as hard as they could at their murderer. It wasn't effective, and it ultimately led them both to a dead end, one getting beaten to a pulp, the other on the ground about to be killed.

 

"Die!" the Russian man chanted, and the man below him couldn't remember a time in life when he's been this scared.

 

"Hey! Come here, asshole!" Leo heard a voice say above him. A fed. They pulled Dragomir away from Leo, his breathing agonal from his fear. He watched the Russian man be beaten to death after giving his death blow to another guard. Leo scooted away, his back touching the bars behind him.

 

Looking at the horrid scene before him made him remember his comrade, as he was getting beaten too. He darted his eyes to the goatee man, wondering whether or not he was dead. Luckily, he wasn't, just bleeding from every hole in his face. Leo would've asked if he was okay, but nurses had swarmed onto the scene, pulling both men to the infirmary.

 

\-----

 

"Shit," Leo groaned. "I hate those things."

 

He was referring to the daunting needle aiming at his arm. He had already determined long ago he had a minor case of trypanophobia.

 

"Don't you have worse things to worry about in here?" the nurse above him questioned. Leo inwardly rolled his eyes.

 

"Just be careful," he sighed. He looked away when the sharp object breached his skin, feeling a sharp pressuring pain in his forearm soon after. He groaned.

 

"You'll be alright," the nurse smirked. "Just lay down and rest for a while."

 

Leo gently rubbed the pierce in his flesh. "Yeah, yeah, thanks."

 

With that, the nurse left.

 

Clear coast.

 

He turned his body to look out the window behind him, staring directly at the chisel that was disregarded on a desk. He's been planning on getting that tool since he arrived. The perfect instrument to use executing his escape.

 

He wouldn't be able to get up and get it though. He knew that. So he needs a distraction, and the man to the left of him would be perfect for the job.

 

"Hey," he called out to him. "I'm Leo."

 

The man turned to face him. "Vincent."

 

_Nice name_. Looking at the fellow battered and bandaged in that bed made Leo remember why he got there. He almost forgot to show some gratitude. He would've been dead had that guy not pulled that goon off of him. He took quite the beating to save him.

 

"Listen, thanks," Leo spoke.

 

"Don't mention it."

 

Terribly polite, a rarity in these parts. "I mean it, man."

 

Vincent curled his brow. "What's your beef with that guy anyway?"

 

"Eh, let's just say it's a long story," Leo relayed. "But don't worry about him. He's out of the picture now. Could you do me a favor?"

 

"Like what?"

 

"There's something I need."

 

"What's that exactly?"

 

Nosy too. "Nothing man. It's simple," Leo assured. "I just need you to watch my back while I get it. That's all."

 

Vincent must've known what he was up to then, as he gave him a look before refusing. "Sorry. Not interested.”

 

"You know what? Fuck it," Leo spoke, jumping from the bed. "I'll do it myself."

 

"Woah, woah, woah, wait!"

 

Leo turned to face Vincent, his hand extended like he was going to reach out and stop him.

 

"What?"

 

"You can't just walk out of here."

 

"Of course I can."

 

"We’re gonna both end up in the hole!" Vincent urged, but Leo was unconvinced.

 

"Well, I don't have a choice."

 

With that, he continued, about to stand from his stiff bed, but Vincent stopped him again.

 

"Alright, alright," he began. "I'll help you. Just don't get caught."

 

Leo celebrated inwardly, leaned back against the bed, putting his arms over his stomach. "Okay. Keep your eyes sharp."

 

"Yeah," Vincent sighed. The latter man noticed how uncomfortable he seemed doing this. Must be a goody-two-shoes.

 

"I'll distract the nurse," Vincent commanded. "Just watch out for her."

 

He rung his bell, and within a few seconds, the nurse had strolled inside, going up to Vincent's bed. Leo stood up when she had finally turned away from him.

 

"What can I do for you?" he heard the feminine voice speak before tip-toeing out of the room and into the hallway. He pattered across, coming to a stop when he saw a guard blocking his way getting coffee. Leo had to wait a moment before forging ahead, the guard eventually taking his cup and strolling into an adjacent hall.

 

Leo sauntered onward, stopping at the edge of the corridor to peek from the other side.

 

_Shit. Vincent needs to do something about that guard_.

 

He tiptoed back, going to peek at the window above, where Vincent laid in his bed waiting patiently for his next instruction. Good thing the nurse was looking down at the sink, or she would've saw Leo's big head peeping from the bottom of the window.

 

Vincent saw him through his peripheral vision, turning his head to face him. Leo mouthed to him, "the guard, distract the guard". Vincent nodded, then sat up in his bed to knock abruptly on the window behind him, scaring the guard sitting at his desk out of his wits and causing him to spill hot coffee on his suit. He cursed at Vincent through his window.

 

_Wow, he's good_. Leo continued his way to the chisel, snatching it and shoving in his pocket when it was within reach. He moved under the table for cover afterwards when he noticed the technician turning around. He heard the guard's bemoaning and became curious.

 

When distracted, Leo moved again. After the guard had left to go to the bathroom, he took advantage of that, sauntering across the area and returning as discreetly as possible back to his bed.

 

He made it within seconds, Vincent continuing to distract the nurse when he walked in.

 

"Okay, I'll give you some pills and water."

 

"Okay, I appreciate it."

 

By the time the nurse had turned to leave the room to fulfill Vincent's request, Leo had already made it in the bed. Leo nodded at him in a "thank you" motion, the latter man returning the favor. Vincent stared back at the ceiling then, waiting for the nurse to return with his request.

 

Leo continued to look at him _. Interesting fellow_.

 

\---

 

The pair only spent a few more days in the infirmary, for their injuries weren't terribly severe. They were escorted back to their cells after their time there. Vincent was following the guard while Leo had stopped, noticing a prisoner getting searched a few meters before him, making him remember the chisel he had in his pocket.

 

He needs to hide that. He looked at the open window next to him and regarded it there on the windowsill. He could get it later.

 

"Hey, what are you up to?" the fed called out to him. Vincent was staring at him already.

 

 

"Nothing," Leo responded, his hands in his pockets.

 

"Let's move then," the guard urged, and that's what Leo did, following the fed and Vincent back to Cellblock B.

 

\---

 

Leo was, again, minding his own business in the scorching heat, jotting his thoughts down in his notepad, until he heard footsteps coming toward him. He glanced up for a moment to find that interesting fellow from a couple of days ago. Vincent, he remembered.

 

Leo returned to his notepad after watching the man sit a few feet away from him, accompanying him on the bleachers. They were silent for a moment.

 

"So," Vincent began. "What's your plan?"

 

Leo turned to look at him, furrowing his brow. "Excuse me?"

 

"I know what you're up to."

 

Leo knew what he was implying at then, acting coy in response to get Vincent to dismiss his conclusions. "I don't know what you're talking about."

 

"Come on now," Vincent pried. And Leo thought he could get out of this conversation easily.

 

He huffed a breath before stuffing his notepad and pen in his pocket, standing from the bleachers and turning to face Vincent, frowning down at him like an angry god at his creation.

 

"Look," Leo began. "I appreciate what you did back there, but you need to back off."

 

He stomped away, voiding Vincent a chance at speaking to him any further, but the man was determined.

 

"Hey," the fellow inmate called out to him, following. Leo swiveled around, his blood curling.

 

"What?" he spat.

 

"I'm sure you have good reasons to bust out of here, but I need to get out of here too."

 

"Yeah?" Leo gestured at himself. "Not my problem."

 

"Just offering my help here."

 

"Hey, you know what? I don't need your help. I can handle myself."

 

Leo swiveled back around, walking at a slightly quicker pace.

 

"Yeah?" he heard behind him. "Like you did in the infirmary back there?"

 

Leo turned around, scowling at him. _Testing fuck_. He walked up to him, ready for a fight. "You trying to be funny?"

 

"No, I'm not," Vincent sighed. "Listen, I'm pretty much in on this. Just trying to make you understand that you could really use my help."

 

Angered at his insisting, Leo scowled further. "Like I said," he spat. "I can handle myself."

 

He stomped away, guaranteeing he was done with the conversation, until Vincent tried again.

 

"What about _Harvey_ then?"

 

The inmate stopped in his tracks, jarring his head behind him giving Vincent a look that could melt iron. He advanced on him then, slamming him against a gate with his forearm tightly pressed against the latter man's neck.

 

"'The fuck do you know about Harvey?" Leo bellowed. "Who've you been talkin' to?"

 

"The walls are thin in here," Vincent growled. Leo rattled him again.

 

"Am I s'posed to believe that?!" he screamed.

 

"Let's just say that you and me have something in common. We both want him dead!"

 

The man loosened his grip then, inwardly intrigued by his comment. Leo let him go after a moment, granting Vincent the ability to finally breathe.

 

He snarled at him. "You don't know shit about me, man."

 

"Maybe not," Vincent growled, stepping closer. "But Harvey killed someone very close to me. With or without you, I'm going after him."

 

That only intrigued Leo more, causing him to arch his brow a bit at the man before him.

 

"But I'm pretty damn sure our chances would be a lot better if we worked together," he continued. "And you know that."

 

Leo continued to glare. Vincent was right, however hard it may be to admit it. Still, the bastard was extremely skeptical, and in order for them to work together, Leo needed to trust him, which he wasn't sure if he could. Not now. He needs to sort shit out first.

 

They stared at each other for a little while longer, even after Leo had inched away from the latter man, rounding on his heel and marching away. He could feel the stare on his head.

 

\---

 

Long after lights out, Leo sighed. He knew he couldn't execute his plan by himself. The mere idea was nuts. He needed another person. He needed Vincent.

 

After pondering and assessing long enough, Leo reluctantly walked up to the bars of his cell, knocking on the wall that separated him and his new jailbreak partner. Good thing his neighbor was awake to hear it.

 

"Yeah?" he responded.

 

"It's my plan, and I decide what goes down. You got that?"

 

"Sure. Whatever you say."

 

"I mean it, man," Leo warned. "You fuck this up, I'll kill you myself."

 

"Yeah, I get it. So, what's your plan?"

 

"You'll know. Soon enough."

  


  


  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy! :DDD

"Fred. Got a minute?"

 

Leo's associate seemed to be having a candid discussion with a fellow inmate before he called his name. The man turned to the group, saying he'd be back, then he followed Leo aside.

 

"'Sup, Leo?"

 

"I need to get up on that roof," Leo requested, pointing its direction. He needed the chisel that was left there for days, collecting dust and debris on a windowsill. He looked back to Fred. "Can you make it happen?"

 

"It's gonna cost you."

 

Leo smirked a bit. "You know I'm good for it," he coaxed. He knew the dark man would want something in return. A favor for a favor. Good thing he already had a pack of smokes reserved just for him. He swiftly pull the pack out and placed it in his uniform pocket, patting the space so it would smooth out the bulge the package created.

 

"Just get me up there," Leo mumbled.

 

Fred followed through with Leo's scheme, the inmate leading him and his new comrade Vincent to a work site, where prisoners were scrubbing tough and pungent tar off of the roof below them that didn't seem to come off. Leo thought it looked more like slave labor than an actual job. Then again, the guards there were sadistic just like their precious warden, so it probably was slave labor.

 

Meanwhile, Fred briefly and swiftly negotiated with the fed he greeted with. He had a reputation in the joint that gave him an upper-hand in a plethora of things. He told the guard Leo and Vincent "needed a change of scenery". When told there were no openings, the clever inmate gave him a pack of smokes.

 

"I'm sure we could figure something out, right?" the man patted the fed's shoulder.

 

With that, he left the group to their own devices, proclaiming he supposed they could "use a few extra hands in here". Leo almost laughed at how simple-minded the guards were. _Dumbasses_.

 

"Leo, hurry up," Fred spoke. "We don't have all day."

 

He regarded himself against a wall under the shade, avoiding the scorching sun above the earth. "I'll be waiting right here."

 

Leo nodded in response, turning to silent and observant Vincent behind him. He tapped his arm.

 

"Hey," he whispered. "'See up there?" he canted his head to where the tool was.

 

"Yeah."

 

"We need to get up there somehow."

 

"Alright," Vincent mumbled back. The two walked over to a pair of empty buckets with brooms ejecting from each. They took the brooms and went to work with the tar.

 

Leo seemed to be thinking long and hard about what their next course of action was going to be until he heard a loud crack to his left rattle his eardrum. His head jolted toward the direction of the sudden sound, appalled at the sight. How the hell did Vincent already break his broom?

 

The fellow inmate didn't return the look he was receiving, seeming unfazed by the fact that his broom just broke within seconds of him using it, and these were sturdy brooms too!

 

"Hey, guard!" Vincent called out to the fed monitoring the work site. "My broom just broke!"

 

"Well, don't just stand there. Get a new one!"

 

"Alright."

 

Vincent did as he was told, leaving his partner to wonder whether or not he was up to something. Leo placed his broom aside and observed the latter man, watching him bring the severed broom to the guard up front. Once the fed had vanished inside the building to replace Vincent's cleaning supply, the inmate side-eyed the peeking Leo, canting his head. A gesture for his jailbreak partner to move his direction.

 

Leo twisted his face a bit in puzzlement before moving, walking passed the absentminded guard and the workers like nothing was happening. His mind was running riot at trying to figure out what Vincent was planning.

 

Once he turned the corner, he found Vincent leaning his back against the giant crates behind him, his hand extended to his counterpart.

 

"Let's go. Grab my hand."

 

Oh, that's what he's doing. Clever.

 

Leo hurriedly climbed onto Vincent, trying to ignore how weird it looked and felt, how his stomach twisted somewhat at the feeling of Vincent's surprisingly soft hand breaching his calloused one. He shook his head on the way up the crates, climbing his way to the top and tip-toeing to his tool. He noticed the guard had emerged from the room as soon as he swiped the chisel from the windowsill.

 

He stopped, unable to climb back down for the guard at the entrance was occupying its space. His eyes turned to a scaffolding bridge that led to another rooftop. Perfect.

 

That is until the fed adjacent to the work site turned to face the bridge. Leo huffed.

 

_Man, you better distract him for me._

 

As soon as the statement echoed in his head, his partner walked up to said guard, striking up a conversation with him for a distraction. Leo didn't even have to signal Vincent, he just knew. Nice.

 

With that, Leo skipped on his feet across the bridge, climbing onto the next rooftop and finding a skylight window to jump through. He used the chisel to open it, lifting the top up and jumping in. Good thing the top and the bottom of the building wasn't too far apart from each other, otherwise Leo would've broken something.

 

He tip-toed to the door that led back to the work site, only to find it locked.

 

_'Course it's locked._

 

"Vincent," Leo hissed, his mouth close to the crack of the door. "Help me out!"

 

Within seconds, the door was opened. _Huh, he heard me._

 

Leo pushed his way outside, swiftly closing the door behind him. He looked at Fred.

 

_Just need to give Fred the tool now._

 

And just like that, the discreet exchange had been made, and Fred was on his way. Leo returned to Vincent, the two men continuing with their work.

 

\---

 

Leo didn't know how the pair managed it: to get passed the wandering feds and all the noise ripping the chamber pot from the wall caused. He was surprised the guards didn't suspect a thing, but then again, the guards there were idiots. He forgot that sometimes.

 

After lights out, he called out to Vincent.

 

"Ready?" he whispered back.

 

"Yeah."

 

"Okay."

 

With that, both inmates crawled through the gaps their toilets left and commenced their expedition, and things were going quite well, Leo taking the lead and Vincent doing what he was told, until they came to a metal doorway that opened up to a long trench leading to the sewage.

 

Leo wasn't expecting it, so naturally he almost fell into it, his body thrusting forward until Vincent caught him by the arm, pulling him onto his torso. Leo latched onto him back, grabbing his shirt.

 

"Shit," he murmured, still held tight onto his counterpart. Looking at that dip triggered his acrophobia, the world around him beginning to spin. He would’ve held onto Vincent a bit longer, but how close they were.. Awkward. He let go of Vincent immediately, stepping closer to the edge, even brave enough to kneel down to it. His heart was pounding.

 

"It's a long way down," he commented. Okay, maybe getting close to the dip wasn't such a good idea, feeling himself get more vertiginous by the second. He stood up then, stepping back.

 

"We're gonna need something to get down there.."

 

"Yeah, we do."

 

Leo turned around. A lightbulb went off in his head.

 

"Hold on," he mumbled, walking toward his new finding: the vent that led to the laundry room, an epiphany popping in his head. Perhaps they could make a rope out of sheets to get down to where they need to go. He explained his scheme to Vincent, and like he was supposed to do, he went with it.

 

Luckily, his bold scheme had worked, and that following night of transporting the sheets to where they needed to be, they were back in the maintenance area continuing with their escape, until the expedition came to an abrupt stop when the two men came across another obstacle: a lift above them that stretched, Leo guessed, perhaps a wee bit over one hundred feet.

 

"Oh, fuck," Leo grumbled. "It's too high, man."

 

The man darted his eyes about the space to find something to latch onto, something to climb with. He traced his fingers along the walls.

 

"And nothing to climb on either."

 

He turned to look at his partner when he noticed he wasn't responding to him quick enough, watching him scratch at his chin hairs. Contemplating.

 

"Here," the man finally said. "Give me your arm."

 

Leo stepped back at Vincent expanding his arms behind him. "What for?"

 

"'Cause I've got an idea. Turn your back against mine."

 

Leo reluctantly followed directions when it hit him what was going to happen next. It was too late to back out now, for his arms were already tied together with his counterpart's.

 

"Are you kidding me?" His heart began to race.

 

"Just remember to push against my back."

 

Oh no, the vertigo hit again. "It's never gonna work!"

 

"Relax."

 

"It's too high, man!"

 

"I used to do this as a kid all the time."

 

"You're nuts!"

 

They were half way up the tight space after a few moments, Vincent constantly reminding him not to look down and to move when he did. Leo was keeping it up for a bit until he absentmindedly canted his head down to focus and opened his eyes. That's when he stumbled, and when Vincent had pushed back on the stiffened body of his, it caused him to jolt forward and catch himself on the wall, giving him nausea and massive tachycardia.

 

He mimicked his rioting thoughts. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-"

 

"Leo, don't look down. Push back against me and we'll start over."

 

"Dammit, Vincent, we can't do this! It's too fucking high!"

 

"Come on, man. We're almost through with this. Just try again."

 

Leo hurriedly followed Vincent's command, then they started over. Leo tried to focus on anything else but the fact that they were miles above ground, like Vincent's words of encouragement through the whole ordeal, how his voice sounded, how warm his back felt, his groans, something to distract him from his current situation.

 

Good thing it worked. Leo opened his eyes only to find they had made it. Both men reached for the grate simultaneously, pulling themselves up and taking a breather. Leo seemed drenched in sweat. Fear could do that to him.

 

He shifted, trying to get comfortable on the metal pushing against him. "At last."

 

"Afraid of heights?" Vincent says, scrutinizing him.

 

"Something like that," Leo responds rather quickly, trying to avert from talking about it further. Made him look less like the "tough guy" he was supposed to be. He looked above him.

 

"Are you fucking serious?"

 

A bolted pathway. Just his fucking luck.

 

"A wrench would be nice," Vincent commented.

 

"There's only one place you can get that: the workshop," Leo relayed. He groaned while glaring at the fall below them. He looked back to his tired friend.

 

"I guess it's the same way down, right?" he asked, knowing the answer to be "yes", and he hated the fact that it was. He asked again if Vincent had a better idea, any "childhood tricks up his sleeve", to which he told him no.

 

"Shit," Leo grumbled. More of his suffering ensued then, the two men hiking back down the long space and trudging back to their cells.

 

\---

 

"What do you want?"

 

"What day is it?"

 

"It's, uh, Monday?"

 

"No, the date. I need to know the date."

 

"Fuck if I know, man. You lose track of that shit here."

 

During the pointless conversation, Vincent had snuck behind the fellow inmate and snatched up the wrench they so desperately needed to continue their expedition out of prison. Leo almost chuckled at how silly it looked.

 

The pair got pass the search that awaited them, as Vincent had passed the tool to Leo prior to, and into their cells they went. Leo went to go hide the tool behind the unbounded commode.

 

"Shakedown! Up against the bars, inmate!"

 

_Shit._

 

Leo hurriedly stuffed the tool into his pants and doing what he was told, scooting next to the wall that separated him and his escapee partner. The guard would search Leo after him roughhousing his belongings, so when the warden and the fed walked inside his holding cell, he pulled the tool back out and stretched his arm behind him toward Vincent, hoping he'd be nearby to retrieve the wrench from him and hide it somewhere. Luckily, he was. Within seconds, the tool had been yanked out of his hand.

 

"Arms up!" the guard searched Leo before telling him to go back to his standing position against the bars and confirming with the warden that his cell was "clean". With that, the authorities left and moved on to the next area. Leo huffed out a sigh of relief.

 

\---

 

"Hey, baby. You good?"

 

Leo heard a voice behind him, recognizing it to be his wife, Linda. He beamed when he lay eyes on her, pulling his companion into a kiss. He smiled when they parted.

 

"God, I miss you," he spoke, honestly. She missed him too.

 

After their reunion, they sat down across from each other before the bleached white table, Leo striking conversation about business first.

 

"Linda," he began. "I got someone helping me in here."

 

"Who's that?"

 

"His name is Vincent," the man relayed. "He seems legit."

 

Linda thought for a moment, and the man could see the doubt in her face. "Are you sure?" she questioned. "I mean, we both thought we could trust Harvey."

 

"This guy wants to take him down as much as I do," Leo informed to reassure, but that only stirred more confusion from his wife.

 

"What?" she spoke, furrowing her brow. "Why?"

 

"I dunno yet, but I'll find out."

 

His wife was silent for a moment. "Okay."

 

They continued to talk, their conversation switching between various topics, from the Harvey situation to little Alex being without his father. Before their meeting had been forced to an end, Leo vowed to make sure Linda and their son's life would be so much better. They embraced for a moment longer, ending it with a passionate kiss. Two feds had come onto the scene then, one taking Linda away and Leo back to his hellhole prison cell.

 

Thinking about his horrid situation being away from his family and the fact of Harvey still breathing made him remind Vincent in the cafeteria of their escape that nightfall. Perfect timing, for a storm was to hit the compound.

 

"Did you hear about the weather?" Leo told his counterpart. "There's a storm coming."

 

"I did."

 

"It's our window. We leave tonight."

 

"I'm ready."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! :D

"You got the wrench?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Just don't drop it, okay?"

 

"Are you kidding me? You think I'll do this climb again?"

 

"Let's hope we don't have to."

 

"There's nothing to hope for. It ain't happening!"

 

At the end of that short banter, Leo worked with the screws on his side of the hatch that gave the two trouble, briskly unscrewing the two bolts and handing the wrench over to Vincent. He did the same, and the hatch eventually was open. Leo's partner disregarded the wrench somewhere and the two heaved the grate aside, climbing through. Leo marveled at how close he was getting to escape.

 

"'Can't believe I'm out of this shithole soon," he remarked.

 

"It's not over until the fat lady sings," he heard Vincent respond.

 

"Oh, she's gonna sing. Trust me."

 

They forged ahead, finding a high yellow vent to climb through. Leo searched around them to locate something to climb with to reach said vent, finding a pallet jack with a stack of crates on it.

 

 _Perfect_. That could give them a boost. He dragged the object below the vent, Vincent climbing on top of it and ripping the metal from the wall. Leo would've stopped to figure out how the hell, but a task was in sight. He followed his counterpart down the vent, and the two eventually came to another area. Both men noticed the feds present, and they immediately ducked behind the row of forgotten crates. The two authorities were too absorbed in a game of spades, so naturally they didn't see two burly prisoners tip-toeing their way pass them.

 

"Leo," an inmate whispered to his partner, who was already latched onto a double door that led to the outside. "Get over here."

 

Leo followed the man, and they both pushed at the door, expecting it to open, but it didn't budge.

 

"Shit," Leo spat. "We gotta bust this door open."

 

They backed up for momentum, and Leo began counting off.

 

"One, two-"

 

"Wait, wait," Vincent interrupted. "Let's time it with the thunder."

 

The storm roared after his comment. Leo didn't even think about that. Smart!

 

"Okay, sure."

 

The thunder roared again, and the two inmates rammed against the double door. Leo felt the door becoming looser with each thrust. Eventually, the door burst open, and they were outside. Leo didn't pay attention to the cold rain soaking him as his eyes were pinned onto the tower not too far from them.

 

"There's where we're headed," he told Vincent, to which he nodded.

 

Leo was pulled into the shadows after his statement then, his immediate response being a questioning hiss at Vincent. He only pointed at the fed above them patrolling the roof as well as the guard before them glowing in the outside light.

 

Leo scoffed, emerging from his hiding position and sneaking up to the guard. He could hear Vincent hissing at him to come back, but he ignored it as he pulled the fed into a tight headlock, crushing his esophagus. He looked back at his partner, noticing his rolling eyes.

 

The pair prowled ahead, Leo leading his counterpart to the warden's office. He shattered the closed window open, the broken glass making quite a bit of noise. He could hear his partner scold him for that, but he paid it no never mind.

 

They continued through the office and into the infirmary, knocking out the pair of feds that congregated in their path and climbed through the window that led to where they needed to go. The only challenge was the searching spotlight.

 

Leo and Vincent ventured close, staying in the shadows of the compound and plowing ahead when the dangerous light went pass. After only a few moments, they had reached a ladder leading up to the top of the guard's tower, Leo ascending first and Vincent following like he's been the past few minutes.

 

Leo quickly got rid of the fed that was busy searching the area, crushing his neck and giving him a strike to the head for good measure. He could feel the probable look he was getting from his partner on the back of his head.

 

His eyes spotted a power line that led to his freedom. Leo turned to his partner, telling him of his finding and that they needed something to slide across with. The older man then walked passed him inside the office, coming out a few moments later with a hanger in his hand.

 

Leo's eyes widened. Was that going to work?

 

Vincent didn't say anything to calm his nerves, just ziplined across the wire effortlessly. Leo watched, his heart racketing in his chest.

 

_Shit. I hope I can do that too._

 

He walked inside the office, grabbing a coat hanger from inside, tentatively approaching the power line that awaited him. He couldn't help but notice the drop below it, the vertigo hitting him again. _Damn, that's high_.

 

He darted his eyes down to Vincent, who was gesturing to him to hurry up. Leo swallowed as he attached the hanger to the wire. He noticed his hands were getting red gripping so tight on the hanger.

 

_You can do this, Leo._

 

He closes his eyes and slides across.

 

He was doing fine until he felt the line snap.

 

Leo quickly latched onto the falling wire, his shoulder slamming into the building beside him. Then he heard sirens.

 

Fuck. They got caught at the worst possible time.

 

The terrified man immediately began to climb despite his throbbing shoulder. He was advancing rather quickly to the top until he felt the frail string snap again, this time from above, causing him to fall lower to certain death.

 

Leo was petrified then, scrambling up the line as fast as his body would let him. His panic caused him to stumble a few times, definitely not making him feel any better about the anxiety flaring in his mind. He didn't want to die. Not now.

 

He looked up and grabbed the hand he saw; his body being yanked upward. By instinct, he latched onto the wet body that pulled him up, collapsing onto it. He forgot Vincent was the one pulling him up. He supposed his intense fear caused him to forget everything except the echoing reminder in his muddled mind to _not die_.

 

Instead of taking a breather after the surge of adrenaline, Leo and his partner had to jump back to their feet as they both must've forgot they'd been spotted and needed to make a run for it.

 

The pair simultaneously leaped into the skylight before them, their bodies slamming into the hard cement floor below. That only made Leo's shoulder feel worse.

 

The man turned to face his comrade, his motive to check if he was okay from the fall, but a bullet whizzes pass his large nose. As if things couldn't get any worse..

 

"Fuck! They're shooting at us!" Leo screams, as if Vincent didn't already notice that. Him and his partner run as fast as they can, opening the heavy roller door in their way and sprinting away from the law. Leo's legs and feet begin to ache from the strain of running so fast, but what does it matter? They were so close to freedom.

 

\---

 

Naturally, the authorities immediately set to work to find the escapees, flying choppers above the two, and placing a guard wherever they could to watch out for one of the fugitives. That wasn't a problem though, as the two men worked together to take down each and every fed that intercepted their way and stayed in the shadows for as long as they could to avoid detection.

 

Leo's brute strength and Vincent's intelligence led them to where they need to go to be fully free: the imposing and lengthy bridge, stretching all the way to freedom.

 

The only problem was the plethora of policemen occupying its space.

 

"Goddammit," Leo hissed.

 

"Hey," he felt Vincent tap him. "Let's go that way. We should be able to sneak under the bridge."

 

Leo refused, proclaiming it was too risky and too high. After almost falling to certain death a few moments ago, he wanted nothing to do with heights for quite a while.

 

He peeked out from the garbage bin him and Vincent was hiding behind, his eyes landing on a fed emerged from his vehicle. Leo had an idea then.

 

"I say we take that guy out," he suggested. "Take his car, cross the bridge."

 

"What are you, crazy?" Vincent marveled, to which Leo scowled at him.

 

"I don't like heights, man, okay?"

 

Leo didn't give Vincent an option to refuse as he had already begun inching toward the guard to commence his suggested course of action. He quietly crushed his windpipe, gently placing him onto the wet road and snatching up his police hat.

 

Leo put it on, sneaking inside the vehicle, Vincent following. "I'm telling you, this is gonna work!" he assured while his partner tried getting comfortable in the backseat, ducking far enough to be unnoticed.

 

"I'll give you credit when we've crossed the bridge," he hears Vincent comment, but he paid no attention to the jab. He was too focused on trying to calmly and discreetly drive across the bridge. He knew this was stupid, but he wasn't going to face another height.

 

Things were going okay until they faced another problem: there was a guard blocking their way looking quite suspicious about who was driving their car.

 

"I have a bad feeling about this," Vincent whispered behind him. "He's too close!"

 

"Relax, I got this," Leo hissed back. "Just concentrate on staying out of sight."

 

"Fine. Don't do anything stupid."

 

Such a redundant comment considering he already is.

 

As if their chaotic decision couldn't get any more disorderly, the suspicious fed decided to investigate some more, flashing a glaring light inside.

 

Okay, that's it. They need to go.

 

With that, Leo slammed his heel onto the gas, the vehicle engine straining from the sudden jolt in speed. He could hear Vincent grunt from being yanked into the very back of the car.

 

"Dammit, Leo!" he screamed, but the driver couldn't hear from his eardrum being rattled by the sound of gunshots echoing around them. He drove faster at that, which wasn't a wise decision considering he couldn't see where he was going.

 

His folly eventually led them charging toward a ditch, both men panicking then.

 

"Oh shit!" was the last thing Leo shouted before being rattled around inside the car.

 

After hearing the sound of glass shatter and the puff of an airbag, he blinked, realizing he wasn't dead, and neither was his partner as he was scrambling out of the vehicle behind him.

 

 _Thank God_.

 

Leo followed suit, and they speedily continued their path to freedom on foot, sprinting as fast as they could. Leo's heart jumped when he heard the barking of a hound behind him.

 

"Fucking dogs?! Are you serious?!"

 

He began moving quicker at that, his legs moving as fast as his body would let them, but those canines seemed to get closer despite his vigorous efforts.

 

"They're too fast, man!" he shouted to his comrade running beside him.

 

"Just keep running!" he heard Vincent call out to him.

 

"Oh, trust me, I'm not stopping! That's for sure!"

 

Leo just kept running. He didn't know where he was going, just knew he was running. His calve muscles were aching like hell and his chest felt like fire from all the heaving it did. He was fatigued and wanted to stop for breath, but those hounds were terrifying.

 

"I think I see a cliff up ahead!" Vincent screamed. "Hurry up!"

 

A cliff? _A fucking **cliff**?_

 

His mind switched back to the hound that seemed impossibly close behind him. The barking rattled his ears and scared him out of his wits.

 

He reached the rock face, about to slide down alongside his comrade, but the hound latched onto him, tearing and ripping at his forearm. Out of panic, he brought his leg up to the dog's snout. He could feel the bone shatter beneath his toe.

 

With that, he leaped back on his feet and, without thinking, slides down the cliff face, a bit too fast for his liking, and he panics on his way down. He's too focused on the fall that awaited him than Vincent reaching out to him on the other side.

 

"Leo! Jump!" he hears his partner call out, and without hesitation, he does just that as soon as he reaches the fall, airborne for, it seemed, forever.

 

Leo holds his breath during, reaching as far as he could to his comrade.

 

He automatically knows he's not going to make it. Vincent's too far. He won't catch him. He isn't going to make it.

 

Leo braces for death.

 

Until Vincent catches him. Instead of feeling his entire body shatter, he feels his knee ache against the rock. Leo blinked on his way up.

 

 _Am I alive_?

 

"Am I alive?" he spills out to his partner, his face resembling that of a shell shock victim. Vincent doesn't answer the question, just shouts at him to keep running. Leo instead answers his own question with _feeling_ alive, and he surely did despite the throbbing pains he felt almost everywhere on his body.

 

They're out. He's out. Leo couldn't help but to laugh hysterically as he ran.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :))


	5. Chapter 5

They ran from midnight until early morning. Leo’s body felt like it was thrown in flames left to toast and burn. At least the pretty colors of the daybreak sky distracted him just a hair from the aching pains.

 

Their venturing fortunately led them to an abandoned campsite, which Leo was more than happy to indulge. Vincent at first opposed the idea, thinking someone was there, but the younger of the pair told him it was empty, to which the wiser one quit opposing.

 

"Let's check it out," Leo encouraged. "Maybe there's something to eat there."

 

Not only was his body aching in all areas, but so was his empty stomach. He was longing for some decent food, even brought up eating at a burger joint on their way there, which he thought would've been _very_ ideal.

 

He didn't get the food he was craving for, unfortunately. Just a chummy old fish from the adjacent pond. Catching one gave him some trouble however, but after his partner showed him how to fish _properly_ instead of persistently stabbing at the water like a serial killer would its victim, Leo finally had the opportunity to replenish. Too bad what he caught turned out to be disgusting.

 

After hunting like mankind's early ancestors, they sat over a fire the two fugitives mustered up talking platonically and learning a bit about their lives. Both men rested up there for the remainder of the day, supposing it was safe enough. They also _had_ to stop considering the strain of running seemingly millions of miles for hours on end caught up to them. The fatigue and soreness that ensued halted them from venturing any further.

 

Nightfall was when it really hit the two, especially poor Leo, who’s calf muscles and feet were throbbing terribly with his sleepiness that made him waspish. Perhaps that’s whom his little Alex got it from.

 

It really wasn’t the fact of being tired that made him so, however, but the cold ground was impossible to sleep on. He shuffled around often in the moistened dirt, trying his best to find a good spot, but everywhere he shuffled, he’d get a shooting pain. It kept him up long enough for him to eventually give up on achieving sleep, sitting up and groaning. His face became more of a glower.

 

He darted his eyes to Vincent, who was a few feet away from him glowing in the presence of the fire. The flames seemed to really interest him.

  
While observing him, it reminded Leo about how far he’s gotten with the man. Vincent really did help him a great deal along the way, his wit and smarts giving them a great advantage. He even saved his ass a lot, especially when Leo almost died surging across that thin wire. He shuddered just thinking about what would’ve happened had the latter man not been there, but it also filled him with reverence. Leo hadn’t really thought about the event, but Vincent, despite getting fired at, stuck around at his expense. How humanitarian is that?

 

So naturally Leo had to thank him, for saving his life. He'd forgotten to at that moment, and thought it rude to let his comrade's efforts go unnoticed. With that, he stood from his seated position, limping over to his fellow inmate and having a seat next to him.

 

 “Couldn’t sleep?” Vincent spoke first, side-eyeing him.

 

“No,” Leo spat, only to exaggerate his point. “The cold, hard ground ain’t a good bed.”

 

Vincent hummed, concurring. Silence followed the short-lived chatter, as Leo was trying to think of a way to get out his gratitude. Common courtesy wasn’t his strongest suit.

 

Once finding the words, he opened his mouth, but a jarring pain in his arm interrupted him, causing a yelp to tear out of his throat. He immediately looked down at the source, only to find Vincent examining his forearm. Leo yanked his arm away, scowling intensely at the other man, but Vincent didn’t really see it until he got done cutting a piece of fabric from his uniform, meeting the cold eyes that burned his head.

 

“Oh sorry,” he began, not at all intimidated by the threatening look. “You have a bleeding bruise on your arm. I didn’t say anything at first, but it’s been bothering me ever since I saw it.”

 

Leo darted his eyes back at his forearm only to find a crimson-red bite marking his flesh, trickling blood. He marveled at the sight. How long had it been there?

 

Vincent began treating the injury, his touch soft and gentle. It made Leo shudder just a bit, which confused him only until he tied it up to being uncomfortable with someone other than his wife touching him so delicately, especially a man. _Yeah, something like that._

 

He watched him nurse his wound for awhile, his wandering thoughts eventually reminding him of why he came to his comrade in the first place. 

 

“Vincent,” he began, the other man still working at his gash.

 

“Yeah?”

 

  
“I, uh, wanted to thank you.. for saving me back there,” he spoke. He cursed himself in his mind at how bad he was at showing gratitude. “I know I probably would’ve died had you not been there to pull me up, so.. thanks.”

 

Silence followed after his statement, the other man still working at the injury, until he gently tied the tag end of cotton denim across the bruise. “Well, I couldn’t just let you die,” he mumbled.

 

Leo may have assessed that statement a bit more than intended. “Yeah,” Leo muttered back. “Thanks for that.”  


 

The fire had become interesting to the other inmate once again until he crawled up from the log. “Well, I guess I should call it a day,” he spoke, finding himself a spot on the ground and laying down, his hands propped behind his head. Watching Vincent catch z’s made the urge to sleep in Leo grow, causing him to mimic his counterpart’s actions on the other side of the cackling fire.

 

Naturally, he didn’t get anything out of it, as not only did the irritating pains return but it got colder. Yeah, his back was pretty warm due to it being faced toward the fire, but his front end kept getting attacked by gusting low winds.

 

Leo groaned then, sitting back up to look at his comrade who seemed to be already asleep. He wondered how the hell the man could rest in such dreadful conditions. He did say he used to camp with his uncle a handful of times, so perhaps that was the reason. Still, it wasn’t fair.

 

Besides the bitterness that struck him, a light-bulb seemed to beam in Leo’s mind.

 

Perhaps he could huddle up with Vincent and maybe that could generate enough heat for the both of them.

 

When he thinks it, he hesitates at how awkward it’d be being so close another man, most importantly another inmate. He’s been in jail long enough to know where physical contact would most likely lead you.

 

But then again, if Vincent really wanted to pull off any sodomy shit, Leo pondered, it would’ve _been_ done considering all the times they’ve been in enclosed spaces over the past couple of weeks. Vincent wasn’t like that, Leo was sure. And he trusted him. He felt like he could and should after all they’ve been through.

With that, he prowled onto the other side of the fire to meet resting Vincent, his hand planting roughly on his counterpart’s shoulder to rattle him out of his sleep. Vincent’s eyes shot open.

 

“Scoot over,” Leo commanded. Hesitatingly, Vincent obliged, shifting a bit farther from the cackling warm fire leaving the latter man enough room to lay. Vincent obviously didn’t expect Leo to straddle him, for he tensed terribly as soon as the man had done so.

 

“What are you doing?” Leo heard him question.

 

“Relax, man, I’m trying to warm up,” he assured, and he was, at a quick pace. The fire behind him and Vincent’s body helped immensely.

 

But fuck, it was awkward. He was not at all comfortable realizing the position he was in. It looked weird, felt weird. Weirder than weird. But Leo tried not to dwell on the juxtaposition, for he needed sleep and needed to focus on that. He need not think too hard into what was happening. They were only trying to seek warmth for better sleep, that’s all. Nothing more to it.

 

He found comfort in that thought and closed his eyes, eventually achieving what he’d been longing for.

 

\---

 

The next morning, they didn’t speak at all about last night. Leo didn’t dare to either. They did their best to wake up and they were on their feet a few minutes after.

 

Of course, Leo didn’t talk about it, but he sure did think about it, more than he was willing to admit. It wasn’t necessarily the fact of practically cuddling with another inmate that made him think, but his reaction to it. Last night, being cradled by the latter man, feeling his cool breaths against his jaw, finding comfort in his quiet heartbeat, it reeled Leo for reasons he couldn't name, and it confused him. So much his head began to hurt.

 

At the time, he didn’t think about how his heart was racing at their closeness, or how his stomach seemed to be falling further and further during, but now that they were continuing their path without having said a word to each other just yet, it was all he could think about. Why was he reacting like that? He would’ve tied it up to being uncomfortable, for he certainly was, but becoming weak to another man’s touch wasn’t embarrassment to Leo, but something else. Something he didn’t even want to know what.

 

Despite his intense evaluation-of-self, the only thing that could distract him from his muddled thoughts was the pain in his feet. It didn’t die out in his slumber like he figured it would.

 

“My fucking feet hurt,” he’d complain, the other man unresponsive until Leo asked about Vincent’s own feet, whether or not his heels were throbbing.

 

“Nah, I’m good,” he answered.

 

Leo frowned. “So, you’re a tough guy, huh?”

 

Vincent looked back. “Well, it’s not like we have much of a choice here,” he spoke. Leo couldn’t argue to that.

 

The silence returned until something Leo’s been meaning to ask his partner popped up in his mind. He’s been curious about it ever since their paths collided: “What are you in for?”

 

“Something I didn’t do,” the inmate responded. Made Leo realize the two had more in common that he thought.

 

“So, you’re innocent, huh?” he said, walking up beside his fellow inmate. “Well, aren’t we all. I’m innocent too, you know.”

 

Vincent chuckled. “Yeah, sure you are,” he mumbled. Leo ignored the sly comment, and how he felt a bit light at hearing Vincent laugh.

 

“What about family?” Leo continued to communicate. “You got any?”

 

“Yeah. A wife—I hope,” he heard the man respond, to which the latter man curled his brow, but only to himself. _I hope? What was that about?_

 

“You?” It was Vincent’s turn to ask, and Leo nodded. “Me too,” he spoke. “And a kid. Alex.”

 

Saying the name made his chest hollow, as it reminded him how much he missed his boy, even stating how much he did to his counterpart. Being separated from his wife was bad enough but being away from Alex brought upon its own desolation. It was all Harvey’s fault, the bastard.

 

“That piece of shit Harvey is gonna get what he deserves, let me tell you that,” he gritted out.

 

“So, let’s go after him,” Vincent spoke. “Together.”

 

 

That’s when Leo had stopped walking, as Vincent's eagerness to join him in battle against Harvey intrigued him again. All he knew was that the bastard killed someone Vincent was close to, but surely that wasn’t the whole story. He needed to know why it happened, when it happened, for it was impertinent to know. He's got his reasons. So, Leo demanded an answer, tugging on the rim of his uniform and pulling him aside, just for good measure.

 

“I need to know what your story with Harvey is,” he insisted. “Okay?”

 

The latter man sighed then, reluctantly relaying his story: “I was a regular guy with a boring bank job. One day, my brother brings in a new client, Harvey.”

 

“Money laundering?” Leo guessed that’s how he was connected, and his presumption was correct.

 

“Money was easy,” Vincent continued. “But Harvey kept coming in with more and more cash and I couldn’t handle it. It was too risky. So, I told him I wanted out.”

 

His face changed into a glower: “He killed my brother, as a warning. After that, I lost it. I planned on killing him, but the son of a bitch pinned it all on me.”

 

“I was convicted for the murder of my own brother,” Vincent growled, though the latter man could still detect the hurt in his voice.

 

“Woah,” he spoke. “That’s fuckin’ rough, man.”

 

His comrade switched his demeanor to a man bowed in pain, and Leo couldn't feel more sympathetic just hearing Vincent’s situation and the pain it burdened him with. And he thought Harvey did him dirty..

 

He planted a hand on Vincent’s shoulder, an attempt at making him feel better. Showing that he cared. “Sorry,” he added. Vincent just looked at him, almost like he was in a hurry to change the subject, and he did.

 

“What’s _your_ story with Harvey?” he asked. Must’ve brought upon too much pain just talking about it. Leo understood and went with the change.

 

He removed his hand from his shoulder, his mind switching to that awful day. “He fucked me over, that’s for sure,” he began. “We were gonna- wait. You hear that?”

 

His speech and train of thought was interrupted by the sound of propellers whizzing above them. Choppers.

 

“They’re closing in,” Vincent spoke, disappointingly. “We gotta move.”

 

\---

 

“Leo, I see a house over there. Let’s check it out.”

 

The two inmates did just that, finding an imposing residence to indulge in. Leo figured they could find some clothes to disguise in. It’d be stupid to go on in prison attire, for the obvious reasons.

 

The house seemed pretty empty at first glance, but when stepping further into the area, they heard a old couple catching up with the news on their booming radio. They immediately went into hiding.

 

Leo’s automatic suggestion was to take them out. But his comrade urged him not to do so, saying it’d be heinous for they’d be inflicting an old couple, which was wrong in itself.

 

“I don’t mean it like that, man,” Leo assured. Must’ve thought he meant _murder_. “I mean we tie them up or something. We really need to change clothes. We can’t walk around like this!”

 

Vincent still opposed, saying it’d be wiser to lure the couple out of the house by releasing their farm animals, specifically their horses.

 

Leo didn’t like it, as he argued the stallions wouldn’t run far enough to have them gone for long. At least in bondage they couldn’t have the opportunity to go anywhere or risk being snitched on. 

 

Vincent couldn’t argue. “Okay then,” he whispered. “Front door should be on the other side.”

 

 

“Yeah, okay, come on,” Leo whispered back, and they were on their way, jumping the luxurious fence that bordered the house from the rest of the world and prowled their way into their front yard. Leo briefly reminded Vincent to stay low as well as telling him what the plan was going to be, then they went their separate ways, executing their plan.

 

Leo climbed through an open window that led to the kitchen. Looked lively enough, and it smelled like cinnamon. He sneaked in further, stopping at the foyer, for the old couple were not too far off.

 

_Can’t go any further than this._

He prowled back into the kitchen when he heard the doorbell. Vincent. He waited patiently for the couple to answer their door, the old man having a shotgun in his hand. The old woman stayed back near the doorway of the kitchen, vulnerable and easy to attack.

 

“Who the hell are you?” the ancient man shouted at his comrade, which Leo figured was his cue to grab the old woman and restrain her, causing her to yell for her husband’s assistance. Her spouse immediately turned, about to shoot at Leo, but unbeknownst to him, it gave Vincent the opportunity to yank the rifle out of his shaking hands and hold him at gun point, which was exactly what went down. At that point, the old man had no choice but to surrender.

 

With that, the two fugitives tied them up and regarded them to a hallway closet. They both tried their best to ignore the cries of the old woman and her husband trying to alleviate her panic. Leo frowned to himself. Maybe tying them up wasn't a good idea, but what’s done is done. He reached for a heavy bookshelf to the left of the closet and tugged it in front of the door, only to guarantee slim chances of escape for the older couple.

 

Leo turned to Vincent: “Alright, let’s find some new clothes.”

 

His comrade nodded, and they parted, one stepping into the closet in another room, the other waiting in a guest bedroom. Leo couldn’t help but to pick at a few things while he waited, like a tower of cards. It definitely helped time go by for the impatient man, as Vincent emerged from the closet quicker than he thought. He looked prim enough, Leo couldn’t stop himself from noticing. Looked like a righteous pimp somewhat. Just needed the hat and cane.

 

“I’ll wait for you,” Vincent told him before leaving the area. With that, Leo made his way to the master bedroom, cracking the door shut behind him and entering the closet, undressing and scavenging for something to clothe with.

  

He dug a bit to find a jade green army jacket, making him think of the Vietnam war. Poor boys. He found a decent pair of oxblood shoes at the top of the closet and a pair of faded jeans. Also, a beautiful gold watch that glowed like the sun in the closet light. He even found cologne, taking a whiff of it and melting. He disregarded his items to a chair in the corner and began to get shuffle out of his dirty prison clothes. He came out of the room feeling fresh and _smelling_ fresh!

 

After feeling himself in a bathroom mirror for just a bit, he climbed down the stairs of the old house with a spring in his step to find Vincent regarding himself in what had seemed like a rather comfortable chair reading a book that grasped his attention. 

 

“Hey,” the younger man called out to him, continuing his way down the stairs. Vincent was automatically distracted from his book, closing it and setting it aside. He stood from the chair. “Ready?”

 

Leo nodded, and the two were out of the house, but not before the younger man darted his eyes to a dusty record player, a few vinyls shuffled about beside it. He couldn’t help but to indulge, sauntering his way to the device. Inspecting it.

 

“What’s this?” he mumbled to himself, but loud enough for Vincent to hear, the wiser man stopping in his tracks to look back at his partner. Leo could hear him scoff. “Come on, Leo, we don’t have time for this.”

 

“Hang on,” Leo dismissed him before reaching for the first record he found, an oldie but a goodie! He was quickly pleased just looking at the cover, turning to face his annoyed comrade with a toothy grin.

 

“Etta James,” he beamed. Vincent tried again at getting him out of playing any music, saying it was wasting time and could draw attention to them, but Leo had already torn the sleeve off of the vinyl, planting it onto the device and letting the needle to its work. How fortunate for him that his favorite tune burst from the object, jolting his body into a placid sway. _At Last._

 

“Leo are you kidding me?” Vincent spat, an attempt at ripping him from his theatrics, but when the melodic voice of the blues singer began to sing combined with soft drums and soothing violins, all Leo could do was dance about the sitting room, ignoring how much he was probably getting under his comrade’s skin. He was even bold enough to tease the irritated man, swaying to him, almost like a ballerina, and extending his hand.

 

“Dance with me,” Leo jokingly requested, a smirk on his face. Vincent didn’t like that, as he just stared at him, not at all pleased.

 

“Leo, we have to go.”

 

“Come on, man,” he pouted, his body switching from an elegant and angular manner to a drooping one. “Loosen up! Just one dance.”

 

His comrade sighed, rolling his eyes rather far into his skull. He inched closer after a few seconds of gathering his wearing thin patience, sliding his hand onto the latter man’s waist and taking his hand, leaving Leo to wrap his available arm behind his neck.

 

Vincent frowned while Leo had a grin plastered about his face, happy at getting what he wanted, but was, deep down, slightly taken aback. Didn't expect Vincent to give in. “I’m only doing this to shut you up,” the wiser man had to mumble before pulling Leo in close, to insure efficient dancing, Leo guessed. From thenceforward, the older man had taken over moving. The latter man just held on to him. There were plenty of stumbles on Leo’s part in the beginning until Vincent guided him through, then he was fine.

 

As they swayed about in the sitting room, Leo wished he hadn’t realized if it could spare him the embarrassment at the thought, but what he’d asked Vincent to do with him was sort of.. he didn’t know.. _intimate.._ for two pals. It caused him to become nervous somewhat, having been pulled so close to Vincent. Their chest were flushed together, and Leo could _smell_ him. Vincent even let go of his hand, leaving Leo’s abandoned limbs to wrap around his shoulders and Vincent’s great arms to wrap around his waist, almost like how a **couple** would dance.   

 

That’s when Leo got a little bothered. The type of bothered that made your stomach jump about inside you, the kind that makes blood flush to your face. Leo didn’t want to know what that possibly could have meant, the reactions that coursed through his body at what was happening between him and his fellow escapee.

 

He dared to look down, only slightly, at the latter man, his grin shifted into a scrutinizing frown.

 

It was the first time he really looked at Vincent. The first time he really noticed how thick his hair seemed to be, or the aging lines on his face that made him look rugged, how his russet eyes suddenly went copper in the lighting of the house. The way his mole on his hollow cheek really sort of complimented his face and made him look.. _handsome?_

Then the man he was admiring looked up at him, catching the poor and lost Leo by surprise. It made the confused man emit a breath that slipped out without his say-so. His legs grew weak and his cheeks became intensely blotched with red because _damn he was more beautiful that he remembered._

Then Leo tore away from Vincent out of panic and embarrassment and _what the fuck was he thinking?_

 

“Leo, you okay?” Vincent had to ask while Leo took giant steps away from him, his mind running riot.

 

“I’m fine,” Leo had to fight to keep his voice even, for his most recent thoughts struck him hard with bewilderment. It’s like another person took over his mind and changed his judgement. Was that another person? Was it _**him**_ thinking like that, thinking that another man was _handsome and beautiful_? Was he losing his mind?

 

“You’re right, we need to get going,” the bundle of nerves spoke after shaking his head, shocked. Embarrassed. He tore the vinyl from the record player to stop the music and scurried his way out of the front door. All the latter man could do was follow, and he did. Their walking eventually led them to a garage of some sort where an old truck lay. A good resource for getting around quicker.

 

From that point, all Leo could spend his thoughts on was fixing the vehicle, for it needed gas, power, and a tire.

 

If only that was all he wasted his thoughts about.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i sowwy for such a late update. :(( i went through a small period of writer's doubt wit this, so. but hey! 'least it's here now! hope you enjoyed! :DD


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For your greatly appreciated patience, you get a long chapter.   
> Hope you like it! :D

 

Leo thought his life couldn’t get any worse.

 

Everything was going fine. They had just finished touching up the truck a bit and were ready to go, but then the husband came out of nowhere and started shooting at them. Leo didn’t know how the fuck, but the couple obviously managed to get out of their rope holds. Neither prisoner wanted a bullet lodged into them, so they scurried inside their truck, or Vincent did rather. Leo managed to get into the trunk quick enough before Vincent sent them zooming away from the farmhouse.

 

Things only got more difficult from there. Not only did the couple manage to escape, but they snitched too. Who else was responsible for the endless amount of feds chasing them down the highway?

 

It definitely was a frightening sight, Leo couldn’t lie, to see all the boundless cop cars hurling toward him, but perhaps his shock gave him an advantage: it granted him the ability to focus better on his task, which was to eliminate as many cops as possible to assure their getaway goes the way it’s supposed to.

 

Leo did just that, loading the shotgun he knew he’d need later, targeting mostly at tires and police heads. It worked effectively, and Leo was going to continue until the truck went spiraling off the highway and into an alcove. The poor truck’s tires were hit by spikes earlier on the road, unbeknownst to the pair.

 

The feds caught up with them above and opened fire. Leo and Vincent abandoned the damaged truck for another source to escape with: a rowboat. Didn’t look like it was going to get them far, Leo thought, but at least they’d be going somewhere. After giving the boat an exerted push, the pair hopped inside and were off within a few minutes of intense rowing.

 

The currents in the water as well as their paddles eventually led them to a boundless river, which was when Leo was starting to question where they were actually going. “Where does this river take us?”

 

“I have no idea,” Vincent answered truthfully. “But the further away, the better.”

 

Leo sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

 

So, they continued to paddle across the surprisingly placid water.

 

After a while, Leo notices, more than he liked, the growing speed of which their boat is floating in the water now, how many boulders are coming their way. The currents are also getting stronger but that’s okay, as long as Leo and Vincent kept working together to get through nature’s obstacles, it’d be a smooth ride.

 

But then everything went to shit. A huge dip further into the water sent them whizzing across the water, causing their boat to ram into every boulder that protruded from the raging river. The inmates tried to avoid as many faults in the long stretch as possible, but everything happened faster than Leo and Vincent could comprehend. Before the men knew it, their boat was practically impossible to use and guide. After ramming into enough rocks and skimming over enough debris, their boat became extremely unhinged.

 

They had no control over where their rowboat would take them, and as soon as it had a mind of its own, it began nose-diving straight for a waterfall.

 

Leo panicked, propelling himself from the boat and going head first onto land. He’s rattled for a bit and is about to rejoice, but he realized:

 

_Vincent’s still in the boat._

 

Now he’s back on his feet, and he swears his heart stops at watching from above the boat tumble and almost fall. Vincent’s dangling from the edge that’s probably fracturing beneath his grip, and Leo’s heart rackets in his rib-cage at the daunting realization that there’s a hell of a good chance the man won’t make it.

 

But Vincent can’t die. He just can’t. Leo scurries to his partner, jumping down a small ledge and spraining his ankle. It causes him to slip and fall from the shooting pain, but he lands just near the shoreline. He crawls toward the dangling boat and extends his hand as far as he could manage. He screams to Vincent to climb up the seats inside the boat, and he does after a few stumbles.

 

Then he’s there, within reach. Leo screams at him again: “ _Jump!_ ”

 

And as soon as he does, the boat's gone, fallen deep into the waterfall, and Vincent's safe in Leo's arms.

 

They tumble about in the damp dirt, hung tight to each other, until Leo's back slams against the gravel and Vincent's swung away from the abrupt force. He landed just to the right of Leo.

 

Neither man said a word as they huffed and heaved for air, that is until Vincent let out a hearty chuckle and it somehow caused a giggle to slip out of Leo.

 

"Man," Vincent sighs. "That was a close one, wasn't it?"

 

"Fuck yeah," Leo finally chuckles. And after Vincent points out the fact, both men begin get tickled for a moment.

 

And as they laugh, Leo turns to look at his counterpart, and suddenly his chuckle dies down.

 

His face drops, his muscles lock up in the face and everywhere else, and he wishes now that he hadn't turned his head to look at that smile, to really listen and drown in that adorable laugh, to find his eyes smiling too.

 

Vincent then notices he's the only one giggling and he stops. He turns his head to face Leo, whom notices how close they really are in the dirt, and it makes his mind go blank.

 

Vincent's eyes glint even though his brows are furrowed. There's a scratch just beneath his eye Leo wants to caress his thumb over. Really, at how close they are right now, he could just do it. He could just bring his hand against Vincent's nape and pull him right on his lips. And he almost does it.

 

But no such thing. He scrambles up, despite the aches that echoed through his body at the jolt of action. Vincent's brow furrows even more.

 

"Sorry," Leo spills. "I, um, we need-we need to go, so."

 

Vincent looked like he wanted to ask questions, from what Leo could tell, but the man didn’t, just concurred with him, got back on his feet, and they continued on.

 

Vincent told him they needed to dry off on their way, and so they did. Vincent took off his leather jacket, ringed it some, and a heap of water fell from the fabric. Leo mimicked him, taking off his army jacket and ringing it too. Vincent took off his shoes for air-drying, Leo did too.

 

Then Vincent began unbuttoning his loud shirt. Leo was about to take off his V-neck for drying in the hot sun, but he froze. The latter man was unbuttoning at a normal pace, but to Leo, it looked slow. Sensual. Then he caught glimpse of Vincent’s pectoral muscles riddled with hair, and what followed was a faint six-pack, then his abdominal hair and v-line.

 

Leo was melting until his eyes met with Vincent's and he fully realized what he was doing was super fucked-up.

 

He cleared his throat and snapped his head away, rubbing the skin off of his hot neck. “What a view, huh?” he said, clearing his throat a second time. He was referring to the vast landscape of urban life before them. A decoy to make him forget the intense embarrassment and confusion he was hit with.

 

“Yeah,” Vincent responded. Leo sat down where he stood, a few feet away from his partner, planting his wrist just above his brow. He got a surge of pain there.

 

_Fuck, Leo. What the hell is wrong with you?_

 

“So,” he heard Vincent and it snapped him out of his wallowing. “What happens now?”

 

Leo figured he was referring to their plan, which got out of him a shake of his head and a sigh. “Look,” he began, returning his eyes to Vincent. “I know what you’re thinking but going after Harvey won’t be easy.”

 

A banker against a powerful man like Harvey: it was obvious who was going to be the victor. Vincent wouldn’t last a second against that bastard. He’d be killed within minutes, Leo knew. Vincent knew too, but he was determined.

 

 “I’m going after him, with or without you.”

 

“You wanna end up dead?” Leo retaliated.

 

“I want him gone,” Vincent responded. Adamant. “The world’s going to be a better place without him.”

 

Leo didn’t say anything then. Couldn’t really. At the end of the day, it was Vincent’s decision to make, so he left it at that. All he could do was hope his determination wouldn’t be his folly.

 

“Speaking of Harvey,” Vincent began after a moment. “You never told me what your story with him was.”

 

Leo’s blood instantly boiled just at the mention of that hellish name. He brought his knees up to his chest, sighing. “Well,” he began. “Before I got busted, me and Harvey made a huge score.”

 

“Bank job?”  Vincent guessed. Leo shook his head no.

 

"You ever heard of the Black Orlov?" Leo continued.

 

His listener bucked his eyes. "Are you serious? The diamond?" he awed. "How the hell did you pull that off?"

 

"A lot of planning and a bit of luck," Leo answered.

 

"So, what happened?"

 

"Everything was going our way- we even had a buyer, but that greedy fuck Harvey had other plans," Leo relayed, having to pause to calm himself from the anger that wanted to burst in him.

 

Meanwhile, Vincent shifted to face him. "Go on," he said.

 

And Leo obliged after a drawn-out sigh. "We were just about to be done with it. Our buyer gave us the money, I was going to give him the diamond, but Harvey.."

 

His blood boiled again. "Harvey fucking tricked me. He shot the guy, took the diamond and booked. Left me to the pigs."

 

"Damn," Vincent said after a moment. "That's rough. I'm sorry."

 

"Oh, trust me, he's the one that's gonna be sorry," Leo responded. "I'm making things right. For me, and for my family."

 

"So, do you know where Harvey is right now?" Vincent inquired.

 

"I know one of his guys, Ray," Leo confirmed. "He'll know for sure."

 

"So, what are we waiting for?" Vincent stood up, snatched his button-up and put it back on as well as his leather jacket. He shuffled his shoes back on and was ready to move forward. "Let's go after him," he said.

 

Leo stood too, putting his still damp army jacket and shoes on, but he didn't move just yet. He instead closed a bit of the gap that separated him and his comrade, a slight worry plastered on his damp face.

 

"You really wanna take Harvey down, huh?" The thought of losing Vincent still hadn’t left him. He just wanted to see if he would change his mind.

 

"Like I said: with or without you, I'm going after him."

 

With that, Leo stopped opposing. "Okay."

 

"Alright then," said Vincent. "Where can we find this 'Ray' guy?"

 

"Don't worry, he's gonna be easy to find," Leo assured. "But I need to make sure my family's safe first."

 

Leo hadn’t seen his family in six months, so naturally he wanted to go see them before they did anything. Vincent understood, and so they went. After a moment of searching, for his family had to move while he was in prison, they were soon found.

 

Leo thought he’d forgotten what happiness felt like. Linda was holding her own, even saw her fight off some fuzz before he could finally greet her. They kissed and hugged, and Leo swore he couldn’t have felt more gleeful.

 

But what really made his heart flutter was seeing his little Alex again. Leo recalled getting a bit emotional just holding the boy in his arms. The little child damned there tackled him when he showed up, and boy did he miss that.

 

Alex missed something too: a good ol’ basketball game with his old man. Leo was all too eager to play after all this time. He invited Vincent to play, and Leo had never seen the latter man smile and giggle like he did just toying and playing with Alex. They got along well together, Leo noted.

 

But unfortunately, the visit had to be cut short. Leo discussed with his wife what was to happen after all of this was done, asked her where Ray was, their typical business talks, then they parted just as they greeted: passionate kisses and hugs. He gave his darling son a giant hug, telling Alex to promise him he'd take care of his mother while he was gone, and the little one did.

 

With that, Leo and his family, once again, separated.

 

\--

 

The pair continued their journey on a bus taking them downtown to the construction site Leo's wife directed him to.

 

"You sure this Ray person will give us Harvey's location?" Vincent had to ask after they disembarked from the transit bus.

 

"He better," Leo responded, but Vincent still had doubts. "What if he doesn't?"

 

"He will. Trust me," Leo assured. The man had plans for Ray. He was going to torture the answer out of him if that's what it’ll take, and he would've got right to it had a construction worker not stopped him and his partner at the entrance.

 

"What do you think this is, a coffee shop?" he barked. "This is a construction site! You can't just waltz in here!"

 

Leo didn't have the patience for him, so he walked on, urging Vincent to follow.

 

"H-Hey!" the worker stammered behind them. "I'm calling the cops!"

 

That's when Leo finally stopped. He turned to confront the man. "You're gonna do what?" he said, gripping his fist. Vincent obviously knew what he was going to do, as he scooted in between him and the worker, stopping what was about to go down.

 

"Relax," he told him. Leo put a hand up. "Don't worry, I got this."

 

He continued, stepping up real close into the worker's face with a glower. "What's your name?" he asked.

 

"Wh-what do you need my name for?"

 

Leo popped him on the chest. "What's your name?" he repeated, his voice a great deal more threatening.

 

"Alright! It's Larry."

 

"Okay, Larry, this is how it's gonna be," Leo began, a finger swinging in Larry's face. "Me and my friend here, we're gonna walk in and see your boss, Ray. Once we do that, I'm gonna break every bone in his body until I get the information I need. Now, think long and hard about what you're gonna say next. If it's not 'hey guys, you're welcome', then we have a problem."

 

After processing what he said, the worker bucked his eyes at him. "Wait, you serious?"

 

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Leo’s sure he didn’t based off of the intense glower he felt he was pulling off.

 

"Okay, well.. I hate that guy, so uh, you're welcome!" Larry finally spoke, a smirk inching on his face. "Go ahead!"

 

Leo smiled back, patting his shoulder. "See? We're all friends here. Where can I find him?"

 

"It's easy, just ask around!"

 

And that they did. Eventually, they found Ray firing an employee, and when he lay eyes and him and Vincent, the bastard ran for it like a coward. But a force like the two inmates was something the man couldn't beat, and he was caught not long after scurrying about the entire construction site.

 

Ray was towed on top of a skyscraper, tied up, and was interrogated. It didn't take much to get him to talk. After having his family threatened, his dick toasted by a blowtorch, and finally, being shot in the knee, he cracked, much to Leo's pleasure. The rat was somewhere in Mexico, apparently with a big mansion, Ray spilled.

 

After that, the two inmates had no need for the construction worker anymore, so they left him to it. They had more things to worry about. A good example would be, obviously, having weapons for their mission, and Jasmine, Leo thought, was the perfect woman to get said weapons from. They just needed money.

 

"We can't risk robbing a bank now," Vincent said, but a gas station was better to rob than a bank, Leo suggested. So, after jimmying the lock of a stolen car, they drove to the closest gas station they could find.

 

Naturally, there was debate on how they should execute this plan, whether to do it calmly and quietly or quickly and easily. In the end, they went with the "in and out" way. Leo didn't have the patience for the latter plan.

 

It had its consequences: they didn't get to sabotage the phone a customer just casually walked up to while their backs were turned, they didn't catch the jittery young man who bolted out of the store, so the whole ordeal made them even more susceptible to getting caught. But hey, at least they had over $100,000 in their pockets.

 

With that, Leo drove up to an abandoned but usable payphone to let Jasmine know they were on their way to meet her at her choice of location. Vincent was suspicious as to who Jasmine was, but Leo assured him she was trustworthy, according to what Leo saw.

 

So, they went to the spot. Leo observed and liked how there were a plethora of things to shoot at as he stepped out of the car. Jasmine was already there, looking guarded and tough like usual.

 

"Jasmine," Leo greeted with a nod.

 

"Leo," the gunrunner nodded back. Her head snapped toward Vincent, automatically scrutinizing him.

 

"Who's this guy?" she questioned.

 

"Don't worry, he's with me," Leo answered, but Jasmine seemed unconvinced.

 

Vincent didn't seem at all uncomfortable at her examining. "I'm Vincent," he introduced.

 

Jasmine didn't say anything back, just stared, and after a few seconds, jolted her head toward Leo with a frightening glower on her face. "You're a fucking idiot!" she screamed.

 

Leo was taken aback. "What?"

 

"Why don't you bring your own family next time?" she barked and stomped toward her car. "I'm out."

 

"Hey!" Leo called after her. "What's wrong with you?"

 

"What's wrong with me? What the fuck is wrong with you?! You think I'm vending ice cream here?" she retaliated, wagging a finger in his face.

 

"Listen," she began. "I told you I don't do business with strangers, and _this_ guy-" she threw the condescending finger at Vincent. "He looks like a stranger to me!"

 

"Do you have a problem with me?" Leo heard Vincent step into their quarrel, which didn't make things any better. Next thing they both knew, Jasmine brought a gun out and stabbed its barrel in Vincent's jaw line.

 

"Yeah I got a problem with you! You have a problem with me?"

 

Leo was about to defuse the situation immediately, but Vincent acted fast: he snatched the gun out of the dealer's hands and dismantled it with ease.

 

Leo bucked his eyes at the scene that unfolded. _Damn, Vincent._

 

Vincent placed the broken weapon in the dealer's hands. "Here you go," he said with a low tone, and just like that, _he_ was the intimidating one.

 

Jasmine turned to Leo again, this time in a less threatening manner. “Who the hell is this guy?" she questioned once again, but Leo didn't oblige her.

 

"Let's just get the guns and we'll be out of here in no time, okay, Jasmine?" he pulled his payment out of his pocket and held it out for the gunrunner to take, and that she did, opening her car trunk and finally letting the men have at it.

 

Ultimately, the brief exchange ended in Vincent getting the M1 Garand and Leo getting the M16. The older of the two hid the assault rifles in the trunk of the car while the latter one stepped inside and started the vehicle. Vincent followed inside, and they were off.

 

Leo didn't decide to make conversation until they were far enough away from his gunrunner. He smirked before speaking. "What was that about?"

 

Vincent furrowed his brow. "What was what about?"

 

"What you did about Jasmine," Leo implied. "That was the last thing I'd ever expect you to do."

 

"Well, I _was_ protecting myself."

 

"Yeah," Leo was still marveling at it. He found it amazing, bad-ass even.

 

"Hey, that Ray guy said Harvey was in Mexico, right?"

 

Leo nodded. "Why?"

 

"I know someone who could get us across the border," Vincent informed. "I just need to let her know we're coming."

 

"Who is it?" Leo asked, and the man responded "Emily", a handy pilot. "Born on a plane".

 

With that, Vincent told Leo to look for a phone booth or a payphone, some place where he could make a phone call to get their plane. They didn't find one until they returned to town and the older one spotted a phone booth outside of a theater.

 

"You sure you can get us a plane?" Leo tried to confirm it a last time.

 

"I sure hope so."

 

So on to the phone booth Vincent went. Meanwhile, Leo was left to try and entertain himself. He looked around, nothing interesting on at the movies. He found an arguing couple and a war veteran he didn't want to bother. There was a dusty old bike found near a garbage can. He gave it a ring and got bored with it after a few moments. He saw a newspaper stand and asked for some smokes, but he didn't want to spend 40 cents on a phony pack of cigarettes. So, he took a seat on a bench.

 

He expected a long wait, but only after maybe 20 seconds, Vincent emerged from the booth.

 

"Hey, did you get us the plane?" Leo asked.

 

"Y-Yeah, yeah I did," stammered his friend. "But I need to go."

 

"What?" Leo's mouth converted to a frown. "What are you talking about, are you okay?"

 

"I'm fine, but I have to be somewhere else right now."

 

Vincent speed-walked away, and Leo couldn't have felt more confused.

 

"Hey," he called out to him. "You can't just walk away!"

 

"I'm not walking away," Vincent responded, eager to get to the car. "But something happened, and I need to be there, alright?"

 

"Vincent," Leo called out again. He was only a few feet away from their vehicle before the confused one jogged in front of him and planted a hand against his chest.

 

"We've come too far to back out now. You need to talk to me," he urged. "Tell me what's going on in your head."

 

"I can't talk about it," Vincent gritted. "What can't you understand about that?"

 

"I don't understand why you can't tell me," Leo spoke. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

 

"I can't talk about it, Leo!" Vincent barked, and he pushed Leo out of his way. It made his blood curl, and he seized him, latching onto his wrist.

 

"You're not going anywhere until you fucking tell me," Leo roared, probably loud enough for the whole town to hear. "We're in too deep for this bullshit, Vincent! Now what the fuck is wrong with you? Tell me, now!"

 

Leo hears the latter man click his tongue before finally giving in.

 

And by that point, it was too late. A bullet whizzed past Leo's nose and they both booked it inside the theater.

 

A fucking hit-man.

 

Just their luck that when they get ambushed, they don't even have weapons to protect themselves. Instead, they had to bolt to a back room and barricade the door behind them with a filing cabinet.

 

Vincent spotted a vent they could crawl through to lead their way out of the theater and back to their car, except it didn't lead them that way, it led them to run into the hit-man again, this time they were a ways above ground while the assassin below shot rounds at them.

 

Good thing they were protected by a panel of lights. They both towed it with them as they cat-walked across the gangplank. They came to a stop when the one in front found a control panel and the next set of lights.

 

"I can control the next one from here," Leo heard Vincent direct to him. "Get behind it."

 

Leo did as he was told, following the moving panels until he was close enough to the hit-man. The assassin was reloading his gun until Leo dropped down and tried to subdue the bastard.

 

It turned out to be a mistake. The fight between Leo and the assassin ultimately led to the younger man being pinned to the ground with a waving gun inching close to his face. It made him wonder why the fuck he was always in such fucked-up positions.

 

Right when the barrel of the gun breached his head, Vincent came and pushed the hit-man away, the force somehow making all three of them drop a floor lower.

 

Leo tried to attack the bastard while he was down, but was unable to, as the man popped him hard in the jaw once getting back up, disorienting Leo.

 

When the ringing disappeared, and the world stopped spinning, the next thing Leo knew, the assassin was choking the life out of Vincent.

 

He panicked as he tried to search for something, anything, to stop what was unfolding, and to his relief, he found a cable cord hanging from a rack behind him, ripped it away, and wrapped it speedily along the assassin's neck. "Let him go, you son of a bitch!" Leo roared.

 

And that he did. Leo tugged the man away by the cord, pulling on it around his neck as tight as he could get it, and within seconds, the hit-man went from a struggling mess to a dead and limp body. Leo let him fall hard against the floor.

 

Leo felt his legs grow weak from fatigue, and he would've collapsed on the floor had Vincent not been coughing and choking on his own spit.

 

"Shit," Leo awed at his friend, aiding him as best he could until Vincent could finally breathe.

 

"Thank you," Vincent huffed, and Leo only nodded. They remained on the floor of the stage for a while then, trying to get themselves together.

 

"Look," Leo panted, after regaining enough strength to talk. "I don't know what's going on with you, but we have to finish what we started. Harvey's gonna keep sending guys like this."

 

"I know."

 

"Do you? Then why the hell the hell did you want to leave all of a sudden?"

 

"It's my wife, Leo," Vincent informed. "She's in the hospital."

 

Leo furrowed his brow. "What's the problem?"

 

"We just had a baby."

 

"Oh. Oh shit," Leo gasped, and instantly he went from shocked to gleeful. "That's great news! Congrats, man!"

 

"Sure, it's great," Vincent nodded. "Thanks."

 

There wasn't a hint of enthusiasm in his voice. "You don't seem too happy about it."

 

Vincent was silent for a moment, looking down at his feet, then he sighed. "Trust me. I'm happy. It's just.. It's really complicated between me and my wife."

 

"Hey, complicated or not, you've got to go see your kid," said Leo. "It shouldn't matter what's going on between you two. At the end of the day, it's your kid."

 

"I know," Vincent mumbled. Even if he knew, it still seemed to Leo like he wasn't really hearing him. He seemed to be still wallowing in guilt, like he wanted to back out from seeing his child just 'cause of his shitty marriage.

 

"Look- you've got us that plane, didn't you?" Leo spoke, planting a hand on his friend's shoulder. Vincent nodded.

 

"So, here's what we'll do," Leo began. "We're gonna put the Harvey thing on a halt. We'll go to the hospital, you'll see your kid, and then we can go get the plane. You with me?"

 

"Yeah," Vincent spoke. "I'm with you."

 

 But after what happened earlier at the square, Leo still wasn't sure. "I can trust you on this, right?"

 

"You can trust me."

 

"Okay then. Let's go," Leo stood and offered a hand to his comrade, and when both were on their feet again, they found an exit to scoot out of and, after reaching their vehicle, they hit the road.

 

Fortunate enough for Vincent, the hospital was only a good fifteen minutes away, and his wife was easy to find. They searched among the information board that greeted them when they walked in, and found the maternity ward was just a floor above. So, they took an elevator up to the 2nd floor. Leo watched his comrade while they were towed up. He was nervous wreck, tapping his fingers against his side, rubbing his neck.

 

"Hey," Leo brought a hand up to his shoulder. "I was nervous too but don’t worry. You'll be fine. Just take deep breaths."

 

Finally reaching their floor, Vincent took a deep breath like he was advised and approached the receptionist while Leo stood to the side. He was going to stay in the waiting room until his friend asked him if he was coming. He didn't have it in him to say no, so he accompanied him. The receptionist guided them to the room, and after being thanked, she left the men to it.

 

Vincent took another deep breath, sauntering inside the room. He stepped no further past the door frame.

 

"Hey Carol," he spoke. "You okay?"

 

She was thin-lipped, had rust-colored hair- contrasting to her sage-like eyes, and she looked old in the lighting of the room. Leo didn't know why, but his stomach had a pit so big he couldn't shut it down like he wanted to just _looking_ at her.

 

"I'm fine," she answered in a condescending tone. "Vincent, what are you doing here?"

 

There was a moment of silence before he answered, "She's my daughter too."

 

There wasn't any change in her unpleasant expression despite the rather heartfelt response. Instead, her eyes darted to Leo, having said not a word.

 

Vincent followed her gaze and answered what she wanted to know but didn't voice it. "This is, uh, Leo."

 

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Leo nodded. "Um, I'll leave you guys alone. I'll be waiting outside."

 

He reached for the doorknob. "Oh-and uh, congrats, by the way."

 

Finally, he shut the door. He was, once again, left alone to entertain himself, and he would've, had his legs moved to do so. He was just standing outside the door like an idiot, and now he was peeping from outside like a creep.

 

Maybe he was just curious. Maybe a bit. So, he stayed there and observed, and he really wished he hadn't.

 

Carol was pretty. Yeah, she may have looked like a crooked witch with her hair in the messiest bun Leo’s ever laid eyes on, the bags under her eyes may have looked exaggerated, but he couldn't deny the fact that she was still pretty. Her hair was a perfect shade of auburn, and those sharp moss-colored eyes were definitely captivating. Despite her lips being thin, they were this nice pink color if you squint a bit. She seemed to be shaped alright.

 

That shit shouldn't have meant anything to Leo, but it did. It hurt that she was so pretty, hard as it is for Leo to realize it. It hurt even more that Vincent had fallen in love with _her_ , that she was his and he was hers. It really shouldn't have meant shit.

 

And just like that, Leo felt envy toward that woman. Leo disdained her name, disdained her existence, just _her_ made bile rise in his throat. But with Vincent, it wasn't like that. Seeing him hold that child so delicately.. All of a sudden it didn't make him feel happy, but disgruntled.

 

Seeing his eyes light up just looking at his wife after all this time, it didn't make Leo happy that Vincent was happy. It just hit him right in the perfect spot of his heart, because he loved her. He loved her so much and it made Leo want to scream.

 

Leo stepped back from the window, his head spinning from stress. He let himself saunter his way to a chair, planting his head in his hands and letting out the deepest sigh he could manage.

 

Leo didn’t even realize, and now that he has, he’s never felt so guilty, so confused, so angry.

 

He was falling in love and he was in too deep to stop it.

 

Leo's about to comb a hand through his hair and groan, but no such thing. Instead, he's on his feet, peering from the window. The sound of police sirens caught his attention, and when he found the feds running inside the hospital with their guns drawn, he knew what was up.

 

_Shit!_

 

"Vincent! We need to get the hell out! The cops are here!" he screams, and as soon as he does, authorities burst through the door. Leo immediately got the hell out of there.

 

He took millions of shortcuts and sharp turns to avoid the plethora of cops coming his way. He had to knock one down, push one off of a stair ledge, and hold one at gun point to get anywhere. He had to sneak about dark hallways and offices and slide down a frighteningly thin elevator shaft too.

 

It all eventually led him to the first floor where the emergency exit was. The car was not far off, and he was going to hightail it to the vehicle, but he was nabbed. He struggled for a bit, but to his dismay, it was ineffective. Just his goddamn luck.

 

Now he's being escorted to a police car outside. He had no idea where Vincent was or what he was doing. All he knew was that he was abandoned and is probably about to receive years of solitary.

 

"Get on the ground," one officer shoved him down on his knees, pulling his hands behind his head. Guns were pointed at him in all directions, including the one just above his head, and he felt humiliated and weak. He got this far only to be pulled back to square one.

 

But his grim was soon turned to awe when he saw Vincent pull up abruptly before him and the authorities, the passenger door wide open, screaming for him to hop in.

 

Everyone was stunned, especially the feds, which gave Leo the opportunity to escape. He knocked the gun closest to him away and sprinted inside the car, bullets whizzing about him. He's surprised yet thankful he wasn't shot.

 

Their car was dashed away from the scene, and despite the bullets puncturing their car and the policemen chasing after them, they managed to make it out.

 

Leo was just marveled. "Fuck, Vincent!" he giggled loud, so loud he didn't hear Vincent chuckling. "That was amazing! I thought you left me!"

 

"If I had the choice, I probably would've," he joked, which earned him a punch on his forearm. They chuckled and giggled some more because damn, they really weren't a force to be reckoned with!

 

\---

 

After all that excitement and thrill, only a few hours on the road passed before both men became tired and a bit peckish. They drove around some more and found a corner store with few customers inside. Vincent suggested chips and water, Leo suggested beer.

 

The wiser one looked at him like he was mad. "Beer?"

 

"Don't ask, man," Leo spat. "Just make sure you bring back a six-pack."

 

Vincent didn't, and after emerging from the car and into the store he went, he came back with what they both wanted: a family-size bag of potato chips, 2 bottles of water, and a six-pack of Budweiser.

 

With that, they left the corner store and drove out to the outskirts of town where no one could bother them or detect them. After getting as comfortable as the vehicle would let them, Leo was the first one to grab a beer, downing it in only a few minutes.

 

Vincent had a look on his face as he watched Leo reach for a second one. "Don't you want to eat first?" he questioned, then he handed the bag of chips to him to emphasize his point.

 

"No," Leo took a big gulp of the beer and shoved the bag away. Vincent didn't ask why, just helped himself to some chips quietly.

 

Leo was glad that he didn't, as just talking about why would've made him miserable again, and the whole point of drinking was to get rid of the feeling. It returned all too soon after their joyous episode. Hearing Vincent laugh and seeing his smile again, it made him feel so light, and it reminded him why.

 

He just wanted to forget about it. It riddled him with guilt and confusion and anger and now he just wanted a drink. Didn't want to talk, just to drink.

 

And that's exactly what he did. Within a few hours, he's downed four bottles, and _fuck_ did it feel good.

 

By that time, Vincent had been nodding off. Leo stared at the man and noticed his aging lines had disappeared. The first time Leo had ever witnessed Vincent’s face really relax. He looked pretty in the dark too.

 

Leo let out a chuckle that wasn't one of amusement, shifting to face Vincent, half empty beer in hand. Even after chugging four bottles of beer and feeling so much better, Vincent was still beautiful, and he still couldn't un-see it.

 

Leo tapped his finger on his bottle. "So, Vincent."

 

"Hm?" his brow arched. _Adorable fuck_.

 

"How'd it go, you know, with Carol?"

 

Not that Leo cared. He only asked to distract him from his gloom that didn't go away like he wanted it, and it worked. Vincent told him how it went, and naturally, Leo wasn't listening.

 

He was suddenly so intrigued not by Vincent's speech, but by his lips, his neck, his hair. Where that cut on his bottom lip came from, his jawline and how it looked so worth biting. There was a strand of thick hair on his crepey forehead Leo wanted to swipe away.

 

And he did. He just brought his finger up and gently swiped it back with the rest of the strands. He felt Vincent go terribly stiff under his finger. His head jolted to face Leo and suddenly they were so close, just a breath away.

 

There was gut-wrenching silence. No noise except the huff of air Leo let out just at the tension in the car.

 

And as soon as the alcohol in Leo's body kicked in full force, it sent his lips just an inch closer to Vincent's, and his palm cupping the hollow cheek marked by his mole.

 

Just like that, nothing mattered. Not Harvey, not Carol, not even his own fucking family. His lips were hovering over Vincent's now and he suddenly needed him, so much more than before, and he needed Vincent to need him too.

 

Just this once.

 

"Leo, we need sleep," Vincent croaked out, and he shuffled away from Leo's soft grip. He pushed his door open and shuffled out. Leo was about to reach for him and beg him to come back, but the car door was already shut.

 

Now he was left alone, drunk and emotional inside the car.

 

He just wanted to cry. It was the perfect time to do it too: Vincent was outside, back turned and sleeping on a grassy hill.

 

He wouldn't see a damn thing. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (so i have this dumb head-canon where every time Leo gets stressed he either drinks a lot or smokes a lot)  
> Cool cool, hope you enjoyed! :DD


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For more of your greatly appreciated patience (and hilarious comments), you get an EVEN LONGER chapter!  
> (yeah i love y'all that much) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!~! :DD

 

 

Rays of light blinded the hell out of Leo when he finally opened his eyes. The beams got him up within a few groggy moments, and as soon as he sits up, pain surges through his stomach and head. Immediately wondering what the hell it was, his gaze falls and then he finds out: four empty beer bottles scattered about the car floor.

 

He sighs. He knew he shouldn't have drunk that much. He wondered how he'd fair against Harvey with these pains, but he concludes he'll just have to figure out a way to get over them.

 

Leo made do with what little resources he had to stifle them, reaching for a semi-cold bottle of water and chugging half of it down before pouring the rest on his hands. He rubbed the cool water on his neck and face and it woke him up a little more. Leo tried again at sitting up before checking out his surroundings, and his once-overs end at Vincent, still asleep on that hill.

 

He huffed. _Fuck, last night.._

 

He would've cursed himself over how stupid his actions were, but really he had no time to look back on them. 'Least not yet. There was a goal in sight. That pilot was waiting on them and they needed to go. With that thought, he steps out of the car, ignoring as best as he could the nagging pains in his stomach and head, and saunters his way to his comrade. With a slap and a shake to the shoulder, Vincent was up within a few seconds.

 

The car ride was unnervingly silent. Leo watched the driver, and all he could manage was a few glances that weren't at all reassuring. There were times where Leo would start conversation to break the tension in the car, but he eventually gave up trying after realizing how stiff and unnerved the latter man was just hearing his voice.

 

After what seemed like forever, they'd finally reached their destination, where a colossal hangar stood and that Emily person inside awaited them. Vincent jumped out as soon as they parked, and when Leo got out, the latter man had already created a distance between them. He looked as if he was speed-walking inside.

 

It was a dagger to Leo's pride, he couldn't lie, but he didn't know what he expected. He crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed: of course Vincent was going to shun him away. It hurt like hell, yes, but then again, what good did it do to dwell on it? Shit happens. Leo will have to get over it like he has to with any other bullshit life throws at him.

 

He followed him inside, finding that pilot touching up the plane Leo slightly dreaded going on until she heard the two coming. She beamed when she saw Vincent.

 

"Long time no see, Vince," she greeted. "How're you doing?"

 

Vincent responded 'fine'.  Emily took a once-over at Leo, to which he stepped up and introduced himself: "I'm Leo. Nice to meet you." She took the hand he held out for her to shake and nodded.

 

"So," she began. "You're a friend, I guess?"

 

Leo really wasn't sure judging by how things were going, but it wasn't her business. "Yeah."

 

After their small talk, the pilot's attention turned back to Vincent, who was observing the plane, when she asked where they were going.

 

"Mexico," Vincent informed.

 

Emily bucked her eyes. "Mexico?" she awed. "You've gotta be kidding me- that's way too far! I'm not flying to Mexico!"

 

"Emily, you know I always pay you good," Vincent tried to reassure, but she wasn't having it.

 

"If you want to go to Mexico, you'll have to pay me way more than 'good'."

 

Leo stepped in then: "We'll pay you double. Just take us there."

 

Finally, she gave in. Leo figures the offer is too tempting to not accept. Finishing her job on her aircraft, she asked of Vincent a few things, to disconnect the gas tank and all. Meanwhile, Leo changed into something more fit for combat: a gray t-shirt, work boots, and looser jeans.

 

Afterwards, he finds a map to peer at to determine where they should be landing after their flight. He favored a spot that assured a discreet landing on the shore of the continent, but asked for confirmation from the expert.

 

"Is this a good landing spot?" he asked Emily, to which she nodded.

 

"It'll be a long walk through a dense jungle though."

 

Leo shrugged. "That's fine."

 

She pointed to a farther spot on the map. "You could also parachute down here. That'll get you way closer."

 

Leo immediately declined the offer. After what happened with that wire back at the joint, he was certain he was done with heights.

 

Then Vincent budded in: "Wait, Emily, you have parachutes here?"

 

"I do."

 

"Hell no, Vincent!" Leo fussed. "Are you crazy?"

 

"Do you know how much time that would save us?"

 

"I don't care! I haven't even seen a parachute before!"

 

"It's not that hard. You just pull a cord," he said, looking at the pilot. "Right, Emily?"

 

"Well, technically, you're right," she says.

 

Vincent went back to Leo. "Come on, what do you say?"

 

He was quiet for a moment, thinking about how stupid that was. He was a clumsy idiot and he knew he was going to fuck something up and die.

 

He groaned. "Alright, alright," he gave in anyway. "I mean, how hard can it be, right?"

 

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out," Vincent said, slipping in a jab at the latter man soon after: "On your way down."

 

Leo frowned. "That's not even funny."

 

"Relax. I'll show you the basics before we jump," Vincent replied before turning away, telling Emily he'd handle the fuel.

 

Leo scowled at him as he walked away, mumbled "yeah, you better," until he realized what just happened. _Did Vincent just talk to me_?

 

"Hey," the pilot tapped him on the shoulder. "Could you find my logbook?"

 

Leo does so, and after the two men opened the hangar doors, they were on their way.

 

The plane ride, similar to that morning's car ride, was silent. Leo was very much preoccupied by his thoughts, how this war against Harvey would go in the long run. He was a bit nervous—maybe more than a bit, however that wasn't all that kept him quiet.

 

He promised himself before they hopped on the plane he wouldn't think about it, last night that is. But it wasn't what happened that occupied his mind, but how his actions would affect him and Vincent's friendship. If there even was a friendship between them anymore.

 

He looks up at Vincent and notices he isn't withdrawn and stiff, though he was a few feet away from him in the small space of the hold. He barely looked at him, and if he did, it was a stolen glance, just like that morning. It may have been nothing, but Leo certainly didn't take it like nothing.

 

Leo huffed and squeezed his eyes shut, throwing his head back against the wall, and just says it. “I'm not gay, okay?"

 

It caught Vincent's attention obviously: when he opened his eyes, the man was gawking at him with confusion. "What?"

 

Leo huffed again. "Look," he began. "Last night.. I was.. I was drunk, okay? I didn't know what I was doing. I guess.. I guess I was just.."

 

Leo stopped when his brain did. He couldn't find a way to explain himself for his folly and with a groan, gave up trying. "Dammit, I don't know- just.. My bad, alright? I'm sorry."

 

Silence returned, and Leo was beginning to regret even saying anything, until Vincent replied, "It's alright."

 

It catches Leo off guard and he looks at the latter man, finding his russet eyes to be less guarded, and he was soon met with a smirk.

 

"Things happen, I get it," Vincent spoke. "But let's just.."

 

His eyes went back down to his twiddling thumbs. "Let's just forget it happened, alright?"

 

Leo sat still for a moment, processing his words, until he nodded. "Yeah, sure."

 

The two men, once again, said nothing for a while. The silence was still weight on Leo's shoulders he really needed to lift, so he spoke again.

 

"Uh," he began. "You know, I've been thinking about the situation with your wife.. I think I've got a solution for you."

 

Vincent's brow arched a little. "Okay?"

 

"You should write her a letter," Leo suggested then, thinking the latter man would take his advice into consideration until he could see the confusion spread about his face.

 

Leo sighed. "Look, I've been through a similar situation with Linda, so I decided at the time that I'd write her a letter, and it worked. I laid it all out, and she gave me a second chance, you know?"

 

Vincent thought about it for a second, eventually turning back to him. "I'm not really the writing type though."

 

"Ah," Leo nodded, before leaning back against the wall. "Just an idea, you know?" he mumbled. Vincent didn't respond and the silence came back.

 

"Congrats on the baby, by the way," Leo added, and Vincent replied 'thank you'.

 

Leo sighed. What a friendship.

 

\---

 

Leo didn't expect for their plane ride to take 35 hours, so naturally he was grateful when they'd finally crossed the border into the foreign country. But after hearing Emily inform them on how close they were getting to their "drop point", Leo remembered they were parachuting and not landing, and his relief was immediately overshadowed by fear that was difficult to swallow.

 

Vincent helped him out with his parachute, as he had no idea what to do with it once he pulled it on him. Vincent tugged at and checked the millions of buckles on Leo before he patted him on the shoulder, confirming he was done with what looked like voodoo to Leo.

 

Fifteen minutes had passed, and they were almost right above their landing zone. By that time, Vincent had already opened their plane door and Leo wished he hadn't stared so hard at the ground below. The bile that wanted to come out from his hangover had returned.

 

"Okay, remember," Vincent began next to him. "Spread your arms to fall slower and to maneuver yourself! And don't forget to pull the 'chute in time!"

 

"Which one do I pull?" Leo asked, pointing to a small handle at the bottom right of his pack. "This one, right?"

 

Vincent confirmed that. "Like this," he throws out his arm to demonstrate, and Leo thinks he gets the point. He returns back to the ground and feels his head spinning. Fuck, he was going to regret this.

 

He mentally prepares himself through a countdown. He even speaks it aloud but still feels himself inching back inside the plane.

 

But fate must've really wanted him out of that aircraft as the next thing he knew, Vincent sent him plummeting toward the faraway ground.

 

The only sounds he manages to get out on his way down are, naturally, throat-ripping screams. For a moment, that's all he does until he remembers what Vincent had gone over before the asshole shoved him out the aircraft.

 

He stuffs his fear down for a moment to focus, stretching his limbs out as far as he can, and like Vincent said, he began falling at a much slower pace. He begins gliding through the blustering wind toward what he thinks is the drop point and keeps going until he remembers the pack on him.

 

The panic returns then as he realizes he was never told when to pull the goddamn ripcord.

 

He calls out to Vincent for some help, but when he hadn't heard a response, that had only made things worse.

 

At that point, he said 'fuck it' and pulled the first handle on the pack he touched.

 

A snip-like sound was heard and then the parachute was gone.

 

"OH SHIT!" Leo managed to scream and he's back in the state he was in when he was thrown off the plane, screaming and panicking, except it was intensified by a tenfold.

 

He's shouting at Vincent to help him, hell, _begging_ for it. The ground was getting closer and closer by the second and he swears he's about to die.

 

That is until he hears Vincent above him: "Leo! Grab onto me!"

 

He does his best, moving himself enough to where the wind flips him over with his back pointed toward the ground. Vincent tugs at the collar of his vest before his body collides with the latter man's, and when it does, Leo throws his legs and arms around Vincent's waist and neck in a tight hold.

 

The latter man's parachute is deployed soon after, and Leo's thankful for it. Thankful for Vincent saving him. Not so much for the height they were at despite him descending at a much slower and safer pace than before.

 

Leo buries his face in Vincent's neck, trying to avoid looking at the empty space surrounding him, until he hears a hearty chuckle boom in his ear.

 

"How come you're so afraid of heights?"

 

"Are you kidding me?" Leo fusses. "Are you seriously gonna ask me that now?"

 

"Why not? Timing's perfect! Just face your fears, Leo!"

 

Leo glares in the crook of the other man's neck. "You're crazy!"

 

"So are you going to tell me or should I just let you go?"

 

"That's not fucking funny, okay?"

 

"I think it is!" Vincent laughs again. He doesn't give a shit about poor Leo's nerves. "So?"

 

"What?!" Leo spat.

 

"Are you gonna tell me or not?"

 

"Okay, okay, I fell down when I was young, happy?"

 

"I wanna know more! Fell down from what?"

 

Leo groaned. "Come on, man!"

 

"Fell down from what?"

 

"I fell down from a fucking tree and broke my arm! Stop asking questions!"

 

That tickled the hell out of Vincent. "That's it? You broke your arm?"

 

"What do you mean 'that's it'?!" Leo shouted. "I was eight years old!"

 

"Did you cry?"

 

"Okay- I've had enough! I'm letting go if you keep asking those dumb-ass questions!"

 

Vincent cackles. "Be my guest! Just keep in mind that you'll break a lot more than an arm."

 

"I hate you, man!" Leo grits out, and the asshole chuckles again. "No you don't."

 

Leo didn't know how to retaliate from that, so he didn't. He shoves his face deeper into Vincent's shoulder, not only to hide even more from the frightening sight that surrounded him, but the heat rushing up his neck and to his cheeks was something he should probably cover up.

 

The closeness between them wasn't helping at all.

 

\--

 

After landing, Harvey was Leo's main focus. Perhaps it was why they got through what the bastard brought them so quickly.

 

The two men knew they'd walked onto Harvey's property once they saw two guards with rifles, having to get into cover. Leo looked beyond the two and found more reinforcement not too far from them.

 

After knocking out the two hostiles with the brunt of their rifles rather stealthily, they proceeded down a path to the left of the unconscious bodies, finding a metal door at its end. Together, they tore it down only to have a bullet whiz pass them as soon as the metal falls to the ground. A sniper.

 

Immediately getting into cover, Vincent instructs Leo to go ahead of him, where a ladder that stretched a ground level above them stood. Leo climbed the ladder and after encountering a building and crawling through its vent, he finds the sniper and ambushes him, knocking him clean out with the butt of his assault rifle. He sits his own weapon aside when he sees the sniper's rifle and uses it to assist Vincent below who was going head to head with the reinforcements.

 

After all twenty-two of Harvey's men are taken care of, Leo moves ahead. He later meets Vincent in the middle of a small building. Inside, there's a garage door that led back outside, and with a bit of elbow grease from both men, it was opened. They continued down a path that led to a small staircase and from that point, a broken bridge. Wasn't a problem however: the inmates climbed down to its ravine and went on.

 

The hard part of their mission was next. They prowled up to a large area with a plethora of patrolling guards. A very discouraging sight.

 

They started out getting through the area through stealth, and it was going well until someone had spotted Leo and fired shots. Thankfully, the two men were good with guns, so it didn't take long for these guards to be wiped out.

 

They see the mansion gate afterwards and hurriedly make their way toward it, but the gate is shut down and more reinforcements crowd the area, even some on the roofs. Vincent and Leo did what they could within the fifteen minutes it took to get rid of them.

 

Now that the gate was closed with no way of getting around its bolts, the pair had to find a different way inside the mansion. Leo is lost for a moment until Vincent asks for help on pushing a baby-blue beater down an incline. He wonders why until he finds the vehicle breaks a gate open just a few feet from it. To their advantage, it created an open leading to the mansion grounds.

 

Leo smirks. He'd forgotten how clever his comrade was.

 

They head on from that point, finding another gate with a lock on it, but luckily it could be easily opened with a bullet. They get passed that and met a set of double doors, bashing it open.

 

What was on the other side scared the hell out of them both. "You piece of shit! You're a dead man!" was the last thing they heard before the sound of an assault rifle boomed from a few feet away. It stopped for a moment until the ringing returned. Leo peeked from him and Vincent's hiding spot and found the hostiles shooting from the crack of a door.

 

His gaze lands on the propane tanks across from that door and he gets an idea. He tells Vincent to cover him before he acts. He works his way around the large room hiding behind numerous boxes and barrels before finally reaching the other side of the area. With that, he gets his hand on one of the tanks and hauls one of them in front of the double doors, yelling at Vincent to shoot it. When he runs far enough from the area, an explosion erupts in the room. The quake of the boom knocks both men off their feet but it managed to do what Leo thought it would: clear out their next path.

 

They make their way through the destroyed hallway, and after lifting a beam from the roof, they make it outside to a pool area where there were more guards than Leo could count. To their dismay, the guards see them as soon as they go outside and they open fire. Luckily, there were only nine of them compared to what was before, so the two men got passed them quick as well.

 

Finally, they make it into the mansion where more hostiles awaited them. It wasn't a problem until Leo heard an ear-rupturing explosion not too far from him. He's freaked out by it until he looks up and finds damn Harvey with a grenade launcher, screaming and cursing their names. Leo wasn't surprised in the slightest.

 

After plenty of near misses with grenades and bullets, all of Harvey's goons are dead, and Leo's target is now upstairs. He bolts up the nearest flight of stairs, Vincent following him, and tackles him, hands aiming for his throat.

 

And he almost had Harvey's thick neck in his hands, but the bastard somehow wiggled out of his grip and when Vincent comes to catch him, he hits him hard in the face with the barrel of his grenade launcher. Harvey launches one last bomb at them that they both barely miss, and in the midst of him loading another one into his weapon, Leo grabs his rifle and shoots a bullet that tears through his side.

 

Harvey lets out a grunt before he runs off. Leo doesn't know where, but he gets up immediately and follows him. He hears Vincent just behind him.

 

Their sprinting eventually leads them to a luxurious office, where Harvey is sitting at the end of a long polished table. His finger is on the trigger of his ugly gold gun until Vincent shouts a warning: "Don't even think about it. Slide it over!"

 

The bastard knows it's a battle he can't win when he sees he's faced with two armed men with guns better at a shot than his gaudy shotgun. He sighs and does what he was demanded.

 

The shotgun hits Leo's knee at the other end of the table. The giant office is silent for only a few seconds before the disdain and anger in Leo leads him to Harvey, and he jabs the barrel of his M16 right on the man's Adam's apple.

 

"Did you really think you could get away?" Leo grits out. "Did you?"

 

"Take it easy," Harvey croaks. "You got me.."

 

"Why'd you do it?" The rifle in Leo's hands continues to shake despite it being pushed up against the other man's skin.

 

"Leo, take it eas-"

 

"Shut up!" Leo bellows, and he pushes the muzzle harder into Harvey's skin, causing the man's arms to go up like a white flag. "I trusted you, you piece of shit! Why the hell did you do it?!"

 

"O-Okay, look," Harvey tries speaking again beyond the pressure on his throat. "I still got it. That's what you're here for, right? The diamond? It's all yours."

 

He points behind Leo, but he doesn't bother to look. "It's in the safe over there," he says. "You can take it."

 

"Move it," Leo demands, and after struggling to stand up from his chair, Harvey lumbers toward the safe. Leo follows him as well as the barrel of his rifle.

 

Finally, the safe is opened. Harvey searches some inside it before the Indian gem comes out, the Black Orlov.

 

"Here," the helpless man holds it out for Leo to take.

 

He does just that. Leo stares at it for a moment, just admires its beauty. The way it glints and shines in the room despite it being the deepest black he'd ever seen. The rhinestone around the gem sparkles a lot more than the giant piece of rock in the middle. It's quite a sight, worth quite a bit of money. He could sell it for millions, and his family would be set for years. Maybe centuries.

 

With a smirk on his face, Leo stuffs the diamond in his pocket, and a hook to the jaw cuts his thoughts short. It throws him off guard long enough for Harvey to get him into a headlock and a pistol pressed right above his ear.

 

Leo tries to wiggle out of the grip, scratching the bastard's forearms, throwing his head back, to no avail. He pushes back against him to make him hit a wall and even that did nothing, in fact it tightened the grip around his windpipe. He looks at Vincent and wonders why the hell he hasn't shot Harvey yet, but he remembered the bastard had yelled at him not to shoot or _he'd_ shoot.

 

Leo looks around for anything he could use to defend himself, and his frantic gaze lands on a glass case to the right of him.

 

While Harvey is too distracted by the gun Vincent refuses to put down, Leo manages to slowly ease them toward the display case and when close enough, he shoves the man against the glass. Finally, Harvey lets go and when turned around, Leo sees a bullet tear right through his throat.

 

Leo's hands finally catch the bastard's throat, and he throws him against the wooden table behind them. The blood from Harvey's bullet wound manages to make the man slip and tumble off the table when they reach its end.

 

When the bastard pops back up,the fight still present in him, Leo and Vincent riddle him with bullets 'til the force of them makes him tumble back against the balcony and tip over it.

 

Silence filled the room until a distant splash was heard below them.

 

After a moment, Vincent jogs up to the balcony while Leo stays back inside the office, his body leaned up against the nearest wall he slouched on.

 

The latter man stares down the platform for a few seconds before he turns around. Leo didn't see a smile, just bright eyes.

 

Vincent slouches against the balcony while Leo huffs and smirks. _Finally, that greedy fuck's dead_.

 

However, the two men are only allowed a few moments of relaxation. The revving of multiple engines just a few meters from them has both of them alert within milliseconds. Vincent shoots up from his position on the ground and peers outside.

 

"Shit," he mumbles. "More men. We have to go now."

 

Leo almost complains about not having any downtime, but he holds back. The two men pick up their rifles and bolt out of the office. They reach the destroyed foyer and run outside where the entrance gate was. They think they've made it until the gate opens and they see hostiles just outside it.

 

Leo freezes in a panic until he turns around and finds two dirt bikes parked for the taking. With that, he jumps on the closest bike near him, Vincent doing the same, and once they start up, they bolt out of there.

 

For a second, Leo thinks they've escaped until he hears the jeeps behind them. To their dismay, they also have machine guns mounted on them, and it scares the hell out of them both.

 

Leo drives as fast as the bike would let him, and when they get to the outskirts of the jungle with lesser trees, something blows up ahead of Leo and he switches to the path opposite of them. He freaks out and drives even faster when he realizes they're grenades.

 

Leo reaches the end of the jungle quicker than Vincent does. He takes a glimpse behind him and his nerves are slightly calmed at seeing the latter man isn't too far off, but then an explosion from behind him erupts when looking away and he immediately halts his bike.

 

He turns back around and sees that Vincent's only lost his bike, which thank God for it because his imaginings were way worse. Leo turns his motorbike around and lets the latter man hop on. The two men continue on at the same rapid speed and the jeeps are still right on their tail. Somehow, the mercenaries managed to drive over the boulders and rocks that were left from the explosion behind them. However much it marveled the two, with Leo driving so fast he could break the speedometer and Vincent shooting as many bullets as he could at the hostiles, they managed as best they could to keep the jeeps at bay.

 

After what seemed like ages, Leo spotted their plane going down a runway about to take off. He let Vincent know and told him to jump on as soon as he gets close to the aircraft, and that's exactly what happened.

 

While Leo is left on the bike, he drifts the motorbike as fast as he could toward the plane's open door, where Vincent had his hand extended for him to latch on to.

 

The more tries it took for Leo to get it right, the closer the aircraft got to the end of the runaway, where the pilot had no choice but to leave him.

 

And when the plane gets too close to the edge, Leo takes a desperate jump toward the plane and makes it!

 

The collision between him and Vincent's bodies were slightly painful, but it didn't matter. After they had a good grip of each-other, Leo sat up to look at Vincent. Their eyes met, and both men burst into a fit of laughter.

 

"You guys are crazy!" they hear Emily from the cockpit. "Vincent, you'll have to pay me triple for this!"

 

The men ignore her fussing and just continue to giggle like schoolgirls.

 

After the snickering dies down, Leo smiles down at Vincent: "Thanks, man," he says, and the latter man smiles back, patting him just above the hip. "You too, Leo."

 

That pat pulled Leo back to reality and noticed he was closer to his friend than what was comprehended. The beauty of Vincent's smirk has Leo's own gone as he let his thoughts wander.

 

What happens now?

 

Vincent has his eyes fixed on something else while Leo gazes, then he says, "You know, I think I just might write that letter to Carol."

 

He doesn't express the way his stomach dropped at the name, just put on a smile that he hoped looked casual. "That's a great idea!" he beamed.

 

Crawling off of the latter man, he calls out to Emily. "You have a pen and paper?"

 

"Wait, now?" he hears Vincent say, and Leo shrugs.

 

"Why not? It's a long way home," Leo recalls the 35 hours it took to get to Harvey's mansion. "You got anything better to do?"

 

Then Vincent shrugs. "Not really."

 

"Alright then!" Leo exclaims, and soon after he's given the pen and paper he was asked for. He hands it to Vincent and leaves him to it.

 

Meanwhile, he looks out the window closest to him, gazing at the jungle and ocean below as he thinks to himself what the future could bring him.

 

He has the diamond in his possession now. If he sells it, which he thinks he might, him and his family will be left with a large sum of money to do whatever they'd like with it. They'd be able to leave the country like they planned since Harvey's goons will come looking for them, maybe to Canada or, if Leo ever wants to, Italy. From that point, they'd be rich and happy, which was all the man's been wanting for them.

 

But what about him and Vincent?

 

The name has Leo gazing at him while he watches him focused on the letter he's trying to find the right words for. It has him in a funk within seconds.

 

It was obvious where they stood. Vincent was going to go home to his wife and daughter. Leo was going to leave the country as soon as they reach the states, so he wouldn't see Vincent regardless. He knew it'd be hell for him, being away from a love so strong. Maybe before they separate, he could get his number, or write him some letters, but it would never ease the pain, Leo thinks, would it?

 

He holds back a chuckle at his next thought. Just think if Vincent tagged along with them. They'd buy a house in a distant country somewhere to accommodate them all. Hell, even Carol and their kid could join them. All six of them. One big happy family.

 

Finally his chuckle comes out. Wishful thinking.

 

Leo's mind has him worn out within a few minutes and it drives him to sleep.

 

\--

 

"Leo."

 

His name being said combined with a palm on his shoulder stirs him up. Leo rubs his eyes. "We there yet?" he asks, and Vincent replies with a 'yeah' before walking off toward the cockpit.

 

After stretching and yawning and shaking his arm to wake it up, Leo finally sits up.

 

The plane lands at the airfield as soon as his brain becomes alert again. The pair emerge from the aircraft after a few moments, and the emptiness in Leo's chest returns.

 

His feet finally touch the ground of his homeland, and he sighs. _That's it then_.

 

Leo looks up to admire the hills of the field but instead his eyes hit glaring lights beaming all around them, revealing what was ten police cars surrounding them, all feds out of their cars with their guns drawn.

 

Desperate for a plan, Leo looks over to Vincent in attempt to find any sign of an idea cross his mind, but the man already had his hands above his head. If _he_ didn't have an idea, Leo definitely didn't have one.

 

With a heavy sigh, he puts his hands above his head too.

 

It really is over.

 

"Everybody stand down!" he hears right when his eyes fall shut. They reopen and it's what looks like the chief policeman walking toward the inmates. Behind him, all guns are hesitantly lowered.

 

Despite the humiliation, Leo stands up straight and refuses to look the asshole in the eye. He wants to preserve a little bit of his dignity. The dignity that was left.

 

But the chief digging into his vest has his attention. Leo fixes his eyes on the hand and doesn't realize it's the same pocket the Orlov's in when the chief's digging until the gem is pulled from his person.

 

He feels his stomach drop at its absence. He held a bit of hope in that diamond. Hoped to escape his fucked-up life with it. Now he's pulled deeper into it, left to wallow in it.

 

The chief observes it, puts it into his own pocket, and turns to Vincent. Leo wonders what fucked-up shit he was about to pull on his friend until the man takes a gun out of his belt..

 

..and hands it to him.

 

"Here you go," he says. "Good job, Vincent."

 

Vincent puts his hands down and takes the gun with a nod. Leo's stunned with confusion.

 

_What the hell ?_

 

The latter man turns to face him. Leo notices his eyes didn't glint. Those aging lines looked malicious.

 

"I'm sorry, Leo," Vincent says before he points the gun at him, just above his chest.

 

Leo's face twists in way that hurts his own muscles. He's so confused. What the hell was going on?

 

Then Vincent says it, and his stomach drops below the core of the earth: "You're under arrest, Leo. It's over."

 

Holy shit.

 

_Holy shit._

 

Leo's shock is indescribable. It has his whole body locked in place and his mind blank. He doesn't even know how to react.

 

But it isn't until the gravity of the situation tears through him like a bullet and unparalleled anger kicks in full force.

 

Leo snatches the gun out of his hands and yanks Vincent's throat behind his forearm. He presses the gun right above the man's ear and screams: "Nobody move! I'll fucking kill him!"

 

He shouts the words like he's actually going to do it, and if Leo were honest, he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure what he really wanted to do about the situation, but what he was sure about was having Vincent alone. It's their business only, and Leo was definitely going to handle it.  With that, he tugs the latter man with him toward the nearest car he could find to take him hostage. Vincent's pleading with him to calm down, but Leo refuses. He didn't want to hear shit from him.

 

"Get in the fucking car!" Leo demands when they reach a vehicle. Vincent climbs in through the driver's entrance and to the passenger seat he goes. The latter man jumps in front of the steering wheel, slamming on the gas which sends them zooming away from the airfield.

 

His gun is pressed hard against Vincent's temple as he drives. "I fucking trusted you, Vincent!"

 

"Leo, you need to calm down," was all the pig could say, and it rubs Leo's nerves raw.

 

"Calm down? Are you serious?!"

 

"Look, I know you're angry-"

 

"Angry? You haven't seen me angry yet, you backstabbing pig!"

 

Vincent begs further for him to ease up, and it only does the opposite. Leo gets angrier the more the pig talks now. His finger is on the trigger and he has such a giant urge to pull it, but something in him tells him not to. It frustrates him like hell until he chalks it up to the realization that he's driving aimlessly on the road and needs to focus on where he's actually going. Leo wasn't sure of that either.

 

But Vincent goes after his gun. Leo is fighting to get it back and it all leads them spiraling off the highway and into a canal within minutes.

 

Somehow they make it,  surrounded with seaweed and murky water. Leo would've rejoiced at surviving the crash, but is instead too focused on trying to make an run for it.

 

Leo leans over, pushing against the latter man with his body weight and with a grunt, he kicks at the driver's window with all the strength he could muster. When the glass breaks beneath his feet and water rushes inside the vehicle, Leo swims off.

 

On his way to the surface, he sees what looks like a boat at the top. He swims faster toward it and when coming up to the top, he climbs on it. Upon finding an engine, he realizes it's a motorboat and smiles. Perfect.

 

It takes only a few tugs on the rip cord before the engine starts and he takes off from there. He thinks he's making it far for a moment until shots erupt in his boat. His head spins behind him thinking that pig sneaked inside while he wasn't looking, but it was actually a chopper above him.

 

He's knows it's Vincent behind all this shit, so he makes it hard for him. He goes under piers and weaves to avoid the bullets. He zig-zags across the water and he can definitely tell he's giving the bastard above him trouble. Puts a smile on his face until he realizes he's hurling straight for a fuck-ton of giant propane tanks.

 

Next best thing is to leap out of the boat, which lands Leo right back into the murky water.

 

Upon coming back to the surface, he climbs on the pier of a shipping yard. On his feet, he frantically looks around to find anywhere to hide before the pigs catch up to him, and his gaze eventually lands on a building behind him. He runs inside right when the chopper reaches the pier.

 

He bolts about empty hallways and empty rooms until he eventually tires himself out and stops in a hallway. He waits there, hiding as best he could, making not a lick of sound.

 

After only a few moments, Emily comes running through the door, bullet-proof vest and all. She was in this too, wasn't she?

 

Leo knocks her down with the brunt of his elbow and takes her gun. He points the rifle at her and shouts at her to leave.

 

"Don't do anything stupid, Leo," she says.

 

"Shut up! Just go!" he roared, but when the pilot doesn't move, he pulls the trigger at the floor to intimidate her.

 

"I don't wanna hurt you, Emily- just get out!"

 

"You know I can't do that."

 

"Don't fucking push it," Leo grits out, flailing his gun in her face. "This is between me and Vincent! Now get the hell out! Get out!"

 

Emily inches her way out of the door before he shouts at her once again, then she's gone. He slams the door shut and locks it.

 

He's about to go find the pig and kill him, but he hears the man right across from him, separated from a sheet of glass.

 

Leo immediately aims his gun at the bastard, ready to shoot. Even more so seeing that the latter man had his gun drawn too. He never thought he'd see that sight.

 

"Please stop this!" he hears the pig plead.

 

Leo wasn't going to have it. "How does it feel to stab someone in the back?!"

 

"I know you're disappointed, but Harvey killed my brother! I had no choice!"

 

That statement only angered Leo more. The pig used him. It was all lies from the beginning.

 

"I'll talk to the captain!" the rat continues. "We'll reduce your sentence!"

 

Leo's blood curls. "My sentence?!" he screams. The bitch was even going to take him back to jail. "You're a dead man, you piece of shit!"

 

"What about your son, Alex?"

 

"Shut the fuck up!" Leo bellows. "Don't you mention his name!"

 

His finger finally pulls at the trigger, cracking the glass in front of him. "Do you hear that, you piece of shit? You're a dead man! You piece of shit!"

 

He runs off, realizing his voice was cracking. His eyes were stinging with something hot and fuck, he just wanted to let it all go, but business needed to be handled. Someone needed to kill that rat bastard for what he did.

 

Both men meet in a storage area with scatters of boxes on the ground level. Unfortunately, this is where Leo enters their battleground. He starts out looking for Vincent and it leaves him open for attack, so he hides behind some crates and continues scanning the area.

 

Leo eventually gets frustrated at the fact that he can't locate the fucker. He stands from the crate for a better view- maybe it's the glaring lights surrounding him that's affecting his sight- and it's not long before a bullet grazes his forearm.

 

The shock forces him back behind the crate. He glances at his forearm and find an angry red streak stretching down to his elbow. It's toasting his flesh, but he refuses to dwell on it. He won't admit to defeat.

 

He tries to peek from the crate again and yet another bullet comes at him, but luckily doesn't hit him. Noticing the slug comes from up top, he makes an effort to go to the upper level. Upon making it, he ducks behind a panel and peers from the railings. He scans the level across from him and finds the pig isn't there either.

 

This angers Leo all to hell. It's like a damn game of cat and mouse.

 

"Where are you, you pussy?" he yells. "Come out and fight me!"

 

Nothing is heard but the building echoing his cry. He moves on from the area and goes even higher after bolting up a flight of stairs. He scans the balcony across from there and a bullet whizzes past him from his left. He gets into cover behind a panel and fires toward that direction until he runs out of ammo.

 

He reloads and fires again. The booming sound of his assault rifle covers up the pipes below him getting hit and soon after, steam attacks his eyes.

 

He gets up and runs from it and a bullet grazes his shoulder. Now his entire left arm aches in excruciating pain but he _needs_ to hold his gun steady.

 

Leo ends up to the left of the eye-watering steam and gets a better a view of the rat from there. Reloading his gun speedily, he aims for him and pulls the trigger.

 

But he realizes when his bullets are half-spent that his hands shivering combined with his bleary vision leaves pits in the walls beside his target, and not at his target.

 

He curses and tries again, and while he's doing it, the force of a bullet hits his vest and makes him tumble backward. He's caught off guard for a moment—it really, really hurt—but he pulls through, then another one came. Grazed right on his ear.

 

It's then that he finally falls back. His hand goes straight to the wound and when pulling his hand back, his hand is drenched in crimson. Blood is pouring down his shoulder. All he hears is ringing on one side, hyperventilating on the other.

 

He's in shock long enough for his enemy to meet him on the other side, and he approaches him. Even when he's down and bleeding out, the bastard still has his gun drawn.

 

"Put down your gun," he says.

 

Leo just looks at him for a while, a glower on his face so intense it hurts his muscles. He slowly sets it aside.

 

"It's over."

 

Leo spits at his feet. "You fucking disgust me, you pig," he manages to grit out.

 

And he sees the rat mimic his own expression. He feels triumph in seeing that glare, in pissing him off. But it hurts him too, almost scares him. He never thought he'd see such a dark, evil expression from that man, especially directed toward him.

 

"Get up," he growls. Leo tries, even if it pains him to take orders from that fucker.

 

The pig growls at him again when he sees the pace Leo's going, and when the inmate manages to get on his knees, he lunges his body at the latter man, and their tumbling pushes them out of a window.

 

Their jump leads them outside, where it was raining. How fitting.

 

They fall on a roof, where the man below Leo takes the brunt of the fall while Leo rolls away. A few seconds passed, and they were throwing off their vests. They couldn't use their guns anymore; Leo left his inside the building and the pig must've dropped his somewhere.

 

The rain against his body and ear was refreshing and gave him some of his vigor back, but it's gone once the pig decks him in the nose.

 

It's a hard blow, one that lets his ears ring for a moment. Blood was trickling down his nose when he came to.

 

He flips back over and while the pig's down, slumped on his forearms, Leo uses his shoulder for leverage and launches his fist at the latter man's jaw.

 

The force throws him on his back. Leo should've felt triumphant at getting a jab in, but the way the rat's body fell back..

 

 _No_ , he shakes his head. He couldn't think about that, not now.

 

The rat bastard somehow recovered from the hit and responds with a strike to his cheekbone. Leo's head hurls behind him.

 

_“Here you go,” Linda passes Leo the piece they’ve stashed just in case._

 

_He couldn’t help but to gaze at his wife and remind himself how beautiful she is._

 

_He cups his hands around her rosy cheeks, pulls her in close. “I love you."_

 

_She smiles. That terrific smile. “I love you too.”_

 

Leo comes to once again, and the pig has him weak. His cheek aches, his arm is burning, his goddamn ear stings like hell, but he needs to push through. He forces himself up on his feet and throws his foot as hard as he could manage into Vincent's stomach.

 

The force flips him over with a heavy, weak grunt. Meanwhile, Leo couldn't stand on his feet for long, and he slumps right back on the concrete.

 

His fall creates a perfect distance between him and his enemy, and the bastard takes advantage of that. Leo feels hefty hands grip his head and then a knee knocks him out again.

 

_“Daddy, look!” Alex presents his creation with unbridled joy._

 

_He’s created a tree house with an adorable sign at its porch. ‘Alex’s house’._

 

_Leo marvels. He doesn’t know how his son did it, but he’s proud._

 

He wakes up and he's weaker than ever. The blood clots in his nostrils prevents him from breathing.

 

The pig is right there next to him, bent over on his knees while Leo's on his back. He knows he's too weak to prevent another hit, but despite it, he reaches over and pulls as hard as he could at his enemy's hair. Something, anything, to keep him down.

 

Leo forces himself to sit up and he tries to go for the other's neck, but a hand over his mouth, fingers curling around his jaw, forces him back down and he hits the ground hard.

 

_Leo wakes up first. Vincent’s body’s like a heater. He’s so warm and comfortable._

 

_He sits up to look at the man. His breathing is gentle. He looks so perfect sleeping._

 

_Leo wonders what the hell he’s doing, watching a man catch some z’s like a creep._

 

_But Vincent was so beautiful._

 

He opens his eyes again and he's never felt a more intense pain in his head. Leo flips back over, his back toward the rain, and he can see his enemy not too far beside him in his peripheral vision.

 

Leo glances over to his opponent, and he finds he's looking hard at something before them. He follows his gaze and there's his M1, flat on a grate, waiting to be used.

 

Next thing Leo knew, the pig was crawling toward it.

 

No. _No no no no._

 

He quickly follows suit. The jolt of sudden movement has his entire body screaming in pain, but he wasn't going to die. He refuses. He has to live.

 

But the bastard's already there. Leo looks up and he sees the cop zip around, the gun in his bloody hand.

 

_Fuck._

 

Leo slumps and finally the tears he was holding back since this bullshit started finally slips from his eyes. He slumps his shoulders and braces for death. 

 

But it doesn't come.

 

He opens his eyes.

 

Vincent still had the gun aimed at him, his finger was prepared to pull that trigger. But they've sat there for at least ten seconds and he hasn't done a thing.

 

It's confusing. So confusing it's almost enraging.

 

And at that thought, Leo actually does feel himself getting enraged.

 

"What are you doing?" he croaks.

 

Vincent says nothing. Silence except for the rain.

 

"What are you waiting for? Shoot me," Leo continues. "Shoot me, go on. This is what you wanted, right?"

 

More rain. The bastard's just sitting there, boring into him with his dumb, pitiful eyes. Slumped on his elbow like a fucking weakling. It makes Leo sick.

 

"Shoot me, you bastard. You've got nothing to lose," he grits out. "You'll go back to your dumb fucking family if you do. You've wanted me to die since all this shit started, didn't you?"

 

Rain. Sad eyes. Shaking gun.

 

"Shoot me, you coward!"

 

More rain. Same sad eyes. Same shaking gun.

 

Leo jolts forward on his knees. His hand grips at the M1's barrel and he almost stabs himself with it. It's at his chest, right above his heart. Quick and easy death, that's all he wanted.

 

But the fucker still wouldn't pull that goddamned trigger.

 

"Shoot me!" Leo screams. Tears are streaming down his face. " _Shoot me_ _!_ "

 

Then the cop jolts forward, pushing him back down on the concrete.

 

He looks up, conflicted and confused, until he sees the man throw his M1 off the roof.

 

Rain.

 

He meets his eyes, and huffs, "Go."

 

Leo's stomach drops. "What?"

 

"Go, please," the man croaks. "I'll tell them I lost you, just..”

 

He drawls out a sigh. "Just go."

 

Leo's still spilled out against the concrete before he tries his best to get on his feet. Vincent watches the whole thing.

 

He dares to ask: "What about you?"

 

He can't even believe he's even worried about it. But Vincent doesn't answer the question, just pleads with him for the last time to leave.

 

Slowly but surely, Leo does.

 

Now he's bolting through dark wilderness. His running made him slam into a tree trunk a while ago and now his right-side hurts. Everything hurts.

 

It's a long way home.

 

The tears wouldn't stop.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAN, this chapter was fun to write. Angst is my specialty. :)
> 
> Hope you liked it! <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to take the time to say thank y'all for your patience. I know it takes me a looooonng time to update, and again, my sincere apologies! (plz don't kill me)
> 
> Almost done with this tho! Hope y'all like it! :3

 

Leo found that Saturday morning he woke up at 8:15; a surprise given the fact that he'd sleep all the way through lunchtime and wake up at mid-day.

  


He was going to stick to his jacked sleep schedule, but he couldn't fall back to sleep, not with what noises came from his small bathroom. He forgets it's around this time his wife has to handle her business.

  


While he stares at the ceiling, a flush and the running water echoes to the left of him before he sees Linda emerge from the bathroom. He could see the silhouette of her naked body under the t-shirt she took from him the night before, which gets a smirk from him.

  


"What are you doing up?" she asks while a yawn creeps up on her. Leo shrugs. Linda seems to have left it at that, and soon waddles toward their bed, flopping herself onto the mattress head first. It doesn't fail to get a chuckle out of Leo.

  


He can see her eye corners pinch and her body bounce as if she was chuckling too. Leo smiles at Linda's cuteness while she sits up and climbs onto his chest.

  


"Working 17 hours straight can do that to ya'," she giggles, swinging an arm around her makeshift pillow.

  


This time, the jest gets nothing out of Leo other than his face falling. It reminded him of their depressing situation, how their plans back-peddled and landed them in Michigan, where Linda worked two menial jobs that, even put together, brought enough to get by, but not enough to leave the country and then some behind. Leo couldn't work either. Even with a haggard beard, people remember his glower, the most prominent feature on his face. Second came his colossal nose. He'd be easy to spot.

  


Leo desperately wanted to help Linda out, but couldn't. Being cooped up in a run-down apartment was not at all what he wanted for his family, and more often than not, it bit at him.

  


"Penny for your thoughts?" he hears Linda ask and his head turns to her. He watches her perfect smile shift to a worried frown.

  


She sits up and brings her hands to his shoulders. "What's wrong, baby?"

  


Leo's hands drift up to cover the gentle ones on his shoulders and a sigh escapes his lips. "I'm sorry about all this, really," he mumbles. "I mean.. if I hadn't got so caught up in everything-"

  


"Hey," Linda interjects, and one soft hand goes up to his cheek. He doesn't notice he keens into the hand while she smiles at him.

  


"I know," she nods. "Things would have been different had Harvey not walked into our lives, but that's then. Let's look at the now, okay?"

  


It's Leo that nods then. "Yeah."

  


"Besides," she begins and his hands get cradled. "We've managed so far, haven't we?"

  


Leo reflects on Linda's words, letting his eyes drift around their room. He sees small but significant cracks in the roof. He recalls that they never seem to have a fridge full of food like any normal family would, and poor Alex still hasn't got anything to bundle up with for the bitter weather of Michigan. All their money has been spent for rent and the like, leaving no space for their catering. Things haven't at all changed for the better, but even so, the Caruso’s still have each other. Leo supposes that's all that matters now.

  


"Now could you do me a favor?" Linda asks while she separates from him, snuggling up on her side of the bed this time. He responds, "What's up?"

  


"Go see if we have a little something for Alex, would you?"

  


He'll admit, he wanted to do anything but get out of bed, but he understands his wife's need for rest and, after a few minutes of muscle and mental preparation, gets up. He slips on some shorts to hide his girth before he does what he's asked.

  


Inside their fridge is a pack of baloney and a pack of Bud. Ice cream was there too, but there was no kind of breakfast food. That meant Linda'd have to go do some grocery shopping, but Leo knew that wasn't going to happen with how tired she was.

  


"You don't have to go through the trouble, you know," Linda insisted. "And anyway, what if someone spots you?"

  


"Relax. It'll be an in-and-out trip. I'll keep my head down. I promise."

  


After freshening up enough so as not to offend, Leo threw on a t-shirt and some jeans, bundled up in a thin jacket. After enough fuss, his wife gave him the money and he was on his way.

  


He stopped at the closest supermarket he could find, which happened to be a Kroger just down the street from his apartment complex. It dawns on him as soon as he enters the store that he hadn't received a shopping list, so he buys groceries according to what he remembers seeing Linda bring home on occasion. It ultimately led to a few minutes of shopping with pancakes, eggs, and milk occupying his hand-basket.

  


The lines in the store were long and huddled with people, which irked Leo some, but nevertheless, he hopped into isle 5 and waited for as long as his patience would allow.

  


In the meantime, he keeps his head down like he promised, trying not to be obvious. He looks around sometimes to be safe however. Tapped rhythms on his thigh.

  


His gaze landed on a man who had no coat on, just a white button-up covering his torso. Leo naturally found it odd considering it was pretty chilly out, but he eventually left it alone. Maybe what he had on was warm enough, even if the sleeves were rolled up to the stranger's elbows.

  


His peering and rhythm-tapping led him closer to the clerk thankfully. It was a swift transaction, and soon Leo took his bags and made his way toward the store's exit, looking forward to a pleasant breakfast with his family.

  


But his bad ear didn't prepare him for the person coming and, from his right, he was rammed into. The force knocked him clean off his feet and costed him his groceries that made a mixture on the floor.

  


What a wonderful start to his day.

  


Leo groans, ready to beat the hell out of whoever knocked him back on his ass. He slips on egg yolk trying to get back on his feet. Shouted "Watch where you're going, asshole!" while he tries desperately to wipe off the batter that stained his clothes.

  


Frantic apologizes of a husky male voice followed the scold, and when hearing it, jolted his body into a freeze.

  


That's when he tries to make out who the man was that knocked him down. He saw first the beige slacks, the same slacks he saw earlier on the man wearing no coat. He realizes it is that man when his eyes reach that white button-up.

  


Finally Leo reaches the figure's face and chills stretch his spine.

  


The man is still trying his best to apologize until their name slips from Leo's mouth.

  


"Vincent."

  


Their eyes meet.

  


The latter man's eyes buck. "Leo?"

  


His knees buckle.

  


_Shit._

  


He jumps back, slowly but surely easing his way out of the store, his wide eyes glued to the russet ones he fell in love with, before turning around and bolting out of there.

  


When he reaches the parking lot, he forgets his car is on its other side, and at that, he picks up his pace while panic sears through him. So intense it makes his stomach churn and his t-shirt collar is suddenly choking him.

  


But when he hears footsteps from behind, his gut tells him immediately it's Vincent. It makes his legs move faster- makes him jog. Anything to greaten distance between him and the pig and close distance between him and his vehicle.

  


But that rat is still on his ass, calling after him. "Leo" this, "Leo" that.

  


That voice and the pattering: it's all getting closer and closer. Leo's trying hard to make it to his car before he loses it. The world around him is spinning and _Vincent just clutched on to his wrist_.

  


Leo's heart leaps to his throat and he yanks away from the grip, bellowing a "don't" before backing up further.

  


The two men stop. All Leo can hear is the cop panting for air under that hideous lip-worm, but he maintains eye contact with him and it puts a weight on his chest.

  


"Leo," the pig takes a step forward and the latter man jolts back.

  


"What the fuck are you doing here?" he bellows, even if the fear, however masked by anger, is seeping through his voice. "You tryna' spy on me now, you sick fuck?"

  


"Leo, please-"

  


"Trying real hard to lock me up, aren't you, you cunt-"

  


"No, Leo-!"

  


They both fall silent while Leo glares at him with such intensity it strains his face.

  


"I've retired," the pig says. "I couldn't spy on you even if I wanted to."

  


"Bullshit!" Leo spat. "I've heard enough lies from you!"

  


"I'm not lying to you!" the cop takes another step forward. "Please- just hear me out!"

  


"No," Leo jumps back again, shaking his head. "No- Stay the hell away from me! You come near me or my fucking family and it's over for you!"

  


He sees the cop’s shoulders slump and his face fall while he backs further toward his car. Somehow, it makes Leo more than sick.

  


_No_. He wasn't going to do this. He jumps in his car, almost dropping his keys in attempt to put them in the ignition, before the car revs up and the engine begins to strain as he slams his foot on the gas.

  


Leo drives as fast as he can to get home. He unlocks his apartment door when making it, he pushes through with such speed he has to catch himself from falling over.

  


He locks the door good behind him and when turning around, Alex is beaming at him.

  


"Hi, dad!"

  


Linda shows up in more suitable dress, and her brows furrow at Leo.

  


"Are you okay?"

  


He doesn't answer, just rushes up to his wife and tugs her by the wrist to their room, telling her they needed to talk.

  


Linda shuts the door and locks it before observing him, her attention immediately drawn to the stains on his clothes.

  


"Damn," she said, reaching for his coat. "What the hell happened?"

  


"He's here," Leo croaks.

  


She looks up. "Who?"

  


His expression changes and hers does too. Leo didn't have to voice it.

  


"What's he doing here?" She continues, and he brings his hands to his face, not aware that it's getting pale.

  


"Fuck if I know." He slumps onto their bed's edge and his wife follows, her hand rubbing at his shoulder.

  


Leo grips tight in his hair. "We have to get out of here."

  


There's a pause before Linda says, "You know we can't do that."

  


"But we have to," he retaliates, raising his chin. "If that bastard cop found us then the police might still be on my ass after all this time- that includes Harvey's goons too."

  


"And I know that," his wife sighs. "But we have to be prepared for it and we're not. The best we can do is find another place outside of the county."

  


Leo's stomach drops when he hears those words. He jumps from the bed. "You know that won't solve anything."

  


While he starts to pace around, Linda says, "Do you have any better ideas then?"

  


"Yes- we just get the hell out of here," he reiterates. "We'll sneak out of this hellhole if we have to."

  


"And even that costs money which you know we don't have, Leo," Linda adds. "Think rationally for a moment, babe."

  


"But think about who the hell is breathing down our necks, Linda!"

  


"Leo, I'm quite aware of who is breathing down our necks, but think about this: it's been three years! You think they'd wait this long to get you? Nothing has even happened! I've sure everyone's forgotten about you."

  


"You don't know that!" Leo shouts.

  


"Yes I do, babe- you've got to calm down."

  


His arms drop. "Are you fucking serious?"

  


"You're being paranoid," she pats down on the bed. "Sit down."

  


He scoffs, shaking his head. He paces around one more time before he sighs and complies. "Fine."

  


Rubbing his forehead, he looks at Linda. "And what about Vincent?"

  


It's her turn to scoff. "If you're that worried, then like I said, we can set up camp out of the county, but that's all."

  


Leo chooses not to respond, instead frowns to himself.

  


"I don't even think we should be worried about him anyway," he hears Linda comment, and he snaps his head at her.

  


"Why the hell would you think that?" he marvels. "Yeah, he may say he's retired, but he could also be lying."

  


His wife gives him a look. "He's retired?"

  


"Yeah, he's retired." Leo spat. "But like I said, he could be lying."

  


Linda snorts, and it irks him. "Are you serious? He couldn't come after you even if he wanted to!"

  


"Why do you keep making him out to be a good guy?"

  


"I dunno, maybe because he is?"

  


"And how'd you figure?"

  


She shifts her position on the bed to face him. "Look," she began. "When you came to see me and Alex at our old trailer, I knew you two were best of pals. I could see that Vincent admired you and our family. He loved Alex- you saw for yourself.."

  


"I'm not listening to this-" Leo starts to get up, but a hand sits him back down.

  


"You saw for yourself how well he got on with him," Linda continued. "Vincent is a good man, I assure you. Would he spy on you or plot against you?" she shrugs. "I doubt it."

  


"And what about that night when he gave me those scars and a bad ear, huh?"

  


"I don't think he meant any harm."

  


Anger bubbles in him. "'The hell do you mean 'he didn't mean any harm'?" he gawks. "He tried to fucking kill me!"

  


"If he really wanted to kill you, don't you think he would have?"

  


Leo's shoulders slump as he finds he couldn't come up with a response to that. He can tell his wife notices that and with a smirk, she gets up from the bed.

  


"I'll tell you what," she begins. "I'll fix you up a shower while I spend the rest of the day with Alex."

  


"No, you don't have t-"

  


"It's alright," she stops him. "I'll tell him you aren't feeling well enough to play today. You need some downtime."

  


Leo didn't argue any further, because, well, maybe he did.

  


She made the water scorching hot which in turn created steam; how Leo loved his showers. The water however hot felt amazing dripping down his body and calming his nerves in the process, just as his wife said it would. She knows him all too well.

  


He found solace in listening to the pouring water, in standing still in the small space despite having finished washing up minutes prior.

  


Though he couldn't deny he was still on edge about earlier. Vincent being retired was something Leo still couldn't find it in himself to believe. The bastard could report his appearance to the whole damn circus, and he'd be back in jail. Away from Linda and Alex. And thinking about what business with Harvey's goons sent chills down his spine.

  


However, he grunted as he card a hand through his wet hair. Vincent's showing up: what troubles it brought really wasn't what fucked with Leo the most.

  


He shouldn't still be lost in that man.

  


He had been since that night they returned from Mexico. He felt anger and disdain for the man, but not at all as long or as much as Leo would've preferred.

  


And Linda was unaware of it as far as he was concerned. That week of his betrayal, he only went as far as to tell her about what happened, but not at all how he felt about it. How he cried on his way back home. How his heart broke to pieces and even after this long, it still hasn't been mended.

  


It all left Leo disgusted and angry with himself. What Vincent did to him wasn't worth forgiving, and it should've kept the flame burning in him. But somehow, it all turned into something else. Wanting to get his revenge shifted into him sulking inside his bathroom at two, sometimes three o'clock in the morning, thinking about what could've been.

  


The weight on his chest and in his stomach returned, and with a groan, he switched the water off.  He didn't even bother to dry off before he left the bathroom.

  


Stark naked, he got on his right side and laid on his bed. He stared frequently at the scars on his arms and the window that gave his bedroom a hue of gray. Leo was stuck like that for a while, his thoughts incoherent and meaningless but somehow all about the cop.

  


Linda and Alex get home sooner than he expected. When his wife settles down, his head is placed in her lap and slender fingers comb through his damp hair.

  


"It started raining, so we had to come back," she explains after a moment, and it almost makes Leo chuckle. _How fitting._

  


He sighs while a soft thumb starts caressing his cheekbone. The silence between the couple as well as Linda's touches are soothing, and the rain hitting the window pane could drive him to sleep.

  


But the despite the calming hush, his mind was on Vincent, and it didn't seem to do anything else.

  


Leo lets out a huff of air that's not quite a chuckle, and says, "Is there something wrong with me?"

  


The thumb and hand stop. "Why do you ask?" Linda questions from above him.

  


Leo shakes his head while his strained eyes look to the ceiling. "Even after what that fucker did to me," he mumbles. "I don't think I hate him. I don't think I hate him at all."

  


"What's changed?"

  


He shakes his head. _Nothing, really._

 

"I don't know, I just.. I don't know."

  


The massages continue while Leo huffs. "I honestly think there's something wrong with me."

  


"No- don't say that," Linda responds. "You just miss him."

  


"That's just it though. Why do I miss him?"

  


Except he knew why, and wasn't sure Linda was aware of it. He's sure she wasn’t as silence hung over the couple again. She was oblivious.

  


Perhaps that was best.

  


"I need a drink."

  


"Do you want me to bring you a Bud?" asks Linda.

  


"No, I mean, a drink," he mumbles. "Some fresh air."

  


She doesn't respond, and after a few moments, he feels her lips peck at his temple.

  


"At least wait until the rain dies down."

  


He thinks he will.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i t ' s y a b o i  
> b a c k o n h e r B U L L S H I T
> 
> Lol, anyway, hopefully y'all enjoy this chapter. it's a lil short but necessary for the plot. Again, sorry for the long update. I really suck at uploading at a good time, lol. If ever this happens again, just check out my other fic "You're So Good To Me". it's a decent substitute. :)
> 
> Again, hope you enjoy.

 

The rain hadn't stopped until sundown. Meanwhile, Leo was just waking up from his nap, and half past nine he was getting ready to head out for the drink he yearned for. It was bitterly cold out, but Leo refused to wear a jacket with caked batter on it. Instead, he bundled up in a gray sweatshirt and jeans. Worn out but wearable converse were a sit-in for boots. Linda told him before he left to "be safe out there", and Leo promised her he would.

 

He makes a quick stop for some Pall Malls— hadn't had a smoke in a long time for his family's sake— before heading downtown. Inside his bar of his choice were a good many of people inside. It irked Leo some, but he shrugged it off. It was a Saturday night anyway. He scanned the bar for a quiet and lonely stool to find solace in, and thankfully he found one in the bar's darkest corner.

  


He takes a seat, not waiting long to light up a smoke and help himself. He's immediately reminded of how good it felt to smoke 'til he gets distracted by his impatience, tapping his fingers on the counter as he eyes the bartender.

  


The barkeep's a bald man with a blotched face, and he approaches after looking up. He's got a boisterous voice that hurts Leo's head a little. "Evening squire! What'll it be?"

  


Leo hasn't much to spend, just $9 and some change. He sighs and takes a puff of his cigarette. "I'll have a beer," he says.

  


He has already looked away until he finds he can still feel the bartender's presence. He looks up and is met with a gummy smile.

  


Leo responds with a scowl. "Is there a problem?"

  


The bartender shakes his head. "Nah, only it seems like you've had a rough day."

  


"Yeah? And what's it to you?"

  


The barkeep chuckles. "You know what? You're right, it ain't got nothing to do with me. But I'll tell you what," he points his finger. "I've been in this joint long enough to know when a man needs something stronger than a cheap beer. You look like a scotch man— how 'bout that? On the house."

  


Leo scrutinizes him for a moment, before he nods. "On the Rocks."

  


The baldie beams. "You got it!"

  


And within a few seconds, the amber-colored scotch is brought to him, along with an ashtray. Leo looks down at his liquor with needy eyes; he wants to chug it down in one gulp, but a top-up is more than he can afford. He sips at it instead.

  


Leo stays inside the bar for a while, away from the loud chatter and excitement. His scotch and his half-done smoke allowed him a moment of peace. Helped him unwind a little.

  


Only a little. Thirty minutes into his being there and he begins to think.

  


He didn't want to think. The whole purpose of him being at that bar was to prevent it happening, but his troubles always find a way to lurk into his mind.

  


Leo sighs and puts his head in his hand. He finds it hard to accept that the deep admiration he had for his partner-in-crime hadn't left him. He fears Vincent has bewitched him. He'll die somehow and that pig'll be engraved on his heart.

  


Christ, does it piss him off. It pisses him off no doubt, but there's also no doubt he wallows in his follies. He wants to slam his head against the wall when he starts to wonder what'd it feel like to be cradled in Vincent's arms, and yet he wants to lose himself in thought. He finds himself thinking about how enamored he'd be if he could drop everything and be with Vincent. Leave everything that's been made of his life behind, but Leo knows it's fucked up— _damn, it's fucked up._

  


He huffs, and after his cigarette is spent, he lights up another one. He takes a long pull out of it and a shaky breath escapes him as the smoke leaves his mouth. He reaches for his scotch in attempt to alleviate himself further but realizes when bring the glass up to his lips it's already gone.

  


"Shit," he sighs. It's an hour already into his visit anyway. He should leave, but he isn't ready. Sitting the glass down, he decides he'll stay until his second smoke runs low, and it only took a few more minutes for it to get there. Leo begrudgingly puts it out as he stands from his stool.

  


He checks his pockets for his keys, puts up his Pall Malls, and turns toward the door.

  


Then he pauses.

  


"Hi."

  


Suddenly Leo's wishing he would've left sooner.

  


In a pile-lined leather jacket, Vincent was standing before him.

  


Their eyes bore into each other, both man unable to say a word. Leo's flight-or-fight hits him hard— he wants to high-tail it toward the exit, but he stays still.

  


The pair stood there quietly a moment longer before the cop's eyes trail behind Leo. He points. "Did you need a top-up?"

  


Leo suddenly wants to throw his fist at that sickeningly beautiful face. He wants to chew that bastard out for approaching him, but his mouth doesn't care to open.

  


A few more seconds go by and Vincent moves without Leo's say-so to steal a seat next to him, calling out to the barkeep, "I need some more scotch. Gin & Tonic too, while you're at it, please."

  


Leo doesn't know why he does, but he sits back down on his stool. He says nothing while they wait on their drinks; he'll lash out on the pig if he does.

  


Silence lingers even after the drinks arrive. Leo just stares at the scotch put in front of him. He won't touch it at all, just listens to the man next to him helping himself to his drink, and it irritates Leo that he's got the nerve to sit there.

  


He eyes Vincent with a glower. "What the hell do you want from me?"

  


The cop sits his gin down with a light tap. Leo feels the man's knee graze against his thigh when he turns to face him, and it makes his leg flex involuntarily.

  


"Nothing," Vincent says. He looks down at the hands in his lap. "It's probably just my guilt that bringing me to you."

  


"Your 'guilt', huh?" That doesn't fail to get a chuckle out of Leo. He looks back at his scotch and decides 'fuck it', bringing the glass to his lips. He needed it. He didn't want to admit to himself, but that statement bit at his heart.

  


The hush between them returns before he hears Vincent sigh. "..I'm sorry."

  


Leo's grip on his scotch tightens. He clicks his tongue.

  


"I didn't mean to cause you pain. I just.. needed to get to Harvey and you were my only way to him."

  


"You used me," the words slip out of Leo's pursed lips. It gets another sigh out of the latter man.

  


"Yes.. I did. What I did was selfish—I see that now."

  


Leo gave Vincent a side-eye before gulping down the rest of his scotch and turning to look him in the eye.

  


His russet eyes were bitterly sad. Unnervingly sad. But nevertheless, Leo upholds his glare.

  


"I promise it wasn't personal," the cop continues.

  


"No, Vincent—it was personal," Leo growls. "I fucking trusted you. Let you near my family, told you what you wanted to hear, while you plotted and lied to my fucking face. Kept me on a damn leash like I was your goddamn play thing— you know what? Did I ever mean _anything_ to you?"

  


A risky question that may muddle him further into grief. But maybe if he heard the truth, it'd make it easier to bare.

  


Vincent just frowns at him before he closes his eyes. "Leo—"

  


"You know what? Don't answer that. I know I didn't," Leo gets up. "Go fuck yourself."

  


He marches toward the door and swings it open. The cold and bitter air hits him immediately but even quicker is the rough hold on his forearm.

  


" _Listen to me,_ " he hears Vincent bite and Leo's twisted around to face him. It throws him off, the contrast of the latter man's demeanor from earlier. The frustration in his visage coerces Leo into standing still.

  


Vincent huffs, a cloud drifting from his mouth. "My main focus at the time was letting my brother's soul rest, alright? Harvey murdered my brother in cold-blood. Seeing that bullet wound in his damn head—I wouldn't.. I couldn't let him get away with that. I was desperate to do something—so desperate that the pain I'd cause on the people I care about.. It was the last thing on my mind."

  


Leo's glare shifted. He didn't know what it shifted to, but it caused Vincent's expression to change from frustrated to sad again.

  


"It wasn't my intention to hurt anyone," he says, his voice significantly softer. "But now that I know I have hurt someone— probably for a long time.."

  


He trails off, sighing. "He can't know how sorry I am."

  


Every bit of disdain in Leo leaves him. His posture droops and a lead ball lands in his throat. He can't come up with a clever response to any of Vincent's words.

  


The pair fall silent again. The only thing heard is the gust of crisp air sweeping old leaves across the pavement.

  


"If you still hate me," Vincent begins. "Just say it and I'll fuck off."

  


He says it in a tone that makes Leo feel even worse.

  


He stares intently at a crack in the sidewalk before he finally meets Vincent's eyes. They looked even sadder than before.

  


Suddenly Leo wants to tell that man everything. His pain, his doubts, his love for him.

  


He steps closer, and Vincent moves in too, a look of helpless hope spreading on his face. Leo opens his mouth, but his lips close again. He wasn't ready.

  


He begins to step back, giving the latter man one more look before, without a word, he turns his back and walks away in search of his car.

  


\--

 

Leo got home 15 minutes before midnight, Linda in a deep sleep and Alex in an even deeper sleep. The man arrived flustered, contrary to his goal which was to leave at peace with himself. He took a warm shower to try and make things better. He put on another sweatshirt with some jogging pants; it was a little chilly in his bedroom.

  


Leo climbed into the bed, wrapping his arms around his wife's stomach like she was a teddy bear, his nose scrunched up on her scalp. It was then that he felt Linda begin to move. Leo figured it was the sudden contact that must've stirred her awake.

  


She looked over her shoulder with half-lidded eyes and smiled. "Oh, you're back."

  


Leo gave her a half-way decent smile back while she switched on his side, her hand lazily massaging his shoulder. "Do you feel better?" she croaks.

  


He decided it was best to lie. He didn't want to burden his wife. "Yeah."

  


Linda hummed and kissed his nose. "Well, I'm glad to hear it." She snuggled into Leo's chest while her arms went around his waist, allowing herself to doze back into sleep. Leo snuggled some too, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He closes his eyes and waits on slumber to take him in.

  


But an hour goes by, Linda softly snoring in his chest, and Leo hadn't slept a wink.

  


He feels he's too upset with himself to do so. Vincent's words are like a broken record in his mind, the encounter in the bar replaying and replaying. His comrade seemed so guilty and regretful. Leo couldn't believe it, but he was actually beginning to believe he was in the wrong about Vincent.

  


His wife was right: he isn't a bad guy. Wasn't one from the start. Leo just didn't understand. Maybe because he was so wrapped up in trying to be angry with that man that he never figured he probably would've done the same if he had someone who he cared about killed.

  


Not only that, but he realizes that if Vincent meant any malice, Leo might've been dead by now. Would've been a rotting corpse on top of that roof. But the cop spared him that burden, and felt horrible for the others he put him through. It showed that the cop did care about the inmate.

  


He sighs to himself, remembering what Vincent said to him outside.

  


_"If you still hate me, just say it and I'll fuck off."_

  


Leo hates himself now for not saying anything. For not saying that he didn't hate him, and that no evil in the world could make him do that. But he just wasn't ready to.

  


But thinking about how wrong it was to not say anything, what kind of stress not saying something may be putting on Vincent..

  


His arms leave Linda for the moment he slowly emerges from the bed, so as to not wake up his wife. Right when he's propped up on his feet, he goes to their small living room. Inside the area in the corner is a table with a telephone and just below, a phone book.

  


Leo gets to it, picking up the book and flipping toward the M- section. He prays to whatever god that "Moretti" is somewhere in that list, and sure enough, he finds it.

  


Quickly, he picks up the telephone and dials the given number.

  


The phone rings a stomach-churning ring as he waits to hear a voice on the other line. The longer it takes, the more Leo regrets trying to call. It's almost one o'clock in the morning anyway—who the hell would pick up at this hour?

  


"Hello?"

  


It was Vincent. Leo felt bad somewhat for the unexpected call: the man sounded more exhausted than he's ever heard him.

  


Leo lets out the air he kept in his lungs as he waited. "Vincent."

  


"Leo?" Suddenly he heard surprise in the voice. "Hey.. Wh—.. I didn't think you'd call me after.. How— How did you get my number?"

  


"I looked you up in the phone book," Leo mumbled.

  


"..Well, w—what is it?"

  


Leo breathes a bit before he answers. "I.. I know this may sound crazy, Vincent, but.. what you said outside of that bar.." he huffs. "I get it. You were only doing what you felt was right, and I don't hate you. I don't think I ever did."

  


There wasn't a response, just shuffling, so he continued.

  


"By the way, I'm sorry for.. overreacting," he mumbled. "I didn't understand the whole situation, and—"

  


"No, Leo, don't apologize for that," Vincent interjected. "You reacted the right way for someone losing your trust. What happened was my fault. I shouldn’t have led you on like that."

  


"But you were doing your job, weren't you?"

  


"Even so, I messed up. Not you. You did nothing wrong."

  


Leo sadly smiled into the receiver. "Well, in that case, I.." he sighed. "I forgive you."

  


"..You do?"

  


"Yeah."

  


He heard Vincent sigh as well, then he chuckled. "You don't know how long I've been wanting to hear that."

  


Leo giggled. Finally, they were okay.

 

"Um," he began. "Look—.. Could we— could we.. uh.."

  


"Could we what?"

  


Leo stared at his foot, nervously tapping on the floor below him. He swiped a hand through his thick hair.

  


"Could we meet somewhere?"

  


Silence. Now he feared he said too much.

  


"It's—it's crazy—it's bat-shit crazy, I know, but.. fuck," his shoulders drooped. "I dunno. It sounds weird saying it but, I miss you man."

  


More shuffling on the other line, before he finally got a response that put his mind at ease.

  


"Sure, Leo. Whatever you want."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! :DD


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIIIIIII  
> hopefully the long wait was worth it,, i'm sorry

 

 

Leo couldn't sleep a wink that Saturday night, mainly because he was thinking too hard into his meeting his long time, and greatly missed, friend. He was sleep deprived but nevertheless got up in time to get ready for his big day with energy he didn't know he had.

 

Butterflies were nesting in his stomach and his hands were more clammy than he remembers. Leo wasn't sure if it was from the excitement he felt knowing he'd be seeing his friend again after three years of silence, or the crippling self-doubt that gave him the suspicion that something could go wrong. Regardless, he prepared as he saw fit.

 

Leo scrubbed every limb and every crevice on his body two times over, even though he showered the night before. He caught glimpse of himself in the mirror and frowned at how much he's let his beard grow. He trimmed it to a preferred length, and was soon flossing and brushing his teeth thoroughly. Puffing breath into his palm to make sure the tart smell was gone, he made a mental note to buy some mints, just in case.

 

He ironed his jeans and flannel as opposed to throwing the pieces in the dryer, like he typically does. His converse were past help when it came to a cleanse, but he tries anyway to make them look a little less ragged.

 

After all that, he got in his clothes, keeping warm in the jean jacket he got Linda to finally wash. He spend the next few minutes in the mirror, making sure his collar wasn't crooked and his beard was evenly trimmed, before collecting his keys off his nightstand.

 

"You look smart."

 

Leo turned at the sudden dialogue, only to find Linda looking at him through thick eyelashes, her head peeking from the covers. Presumably stirred awake from all the racket her husband's made.

 

After a yawn, she wafts air into her nose. She hums. "You smell good too."

 

A smile pulled at Leo's lips. "Thanks." Linda wasn't aware he had submerged himself in Brut.

 

His wife sat up, her hair defying gravity. "You heading out?" she asked.

 

"Uh, yeah, yeah I am," Leo nodded. "I won't be long."

 

"Oh no, don't worry about that," Linda deflected. "You just have fun, okay? Where are you two headed?"

 

Leo paused a moment, his brows furrowing, before answering: "You know, I'm not sure. Maybe we'll go out to eat at a restaurant, or maybe we'll get some drinks." He shrugged. "Not sure."

 

"Drinks at this hour?" Linda giggled like a schoolgirl. "Some date you're going on, huh?"

 

"It ain't a date," Leo scolded. "It's just.. We're hanging out. That's all."

 

"It's alright, tough guy. Just pulling your leg," his wife chuckled. "Now go on, don't let me make you late."

 

Leo didn't attempt to fight his smirk. "Sure." He plants a gentle kiss on Linda's forehead and then her lips, letting her know he loved her. He went to his dear Alex, the rascal up early, giving him a noogie and a kiss. Leo told his son he loved him too, and soon enough, he headed out.

 

Leo made a quick errand for mints, Pall Malls, and some cash, meanwhile trying to memorize the address given to him so there was no chance he'd forget: 753 Amer Blvd, third unit. The drive there takes around 30 minutes and Leo makes it there sometime around eight, the time he figured Vincent was expecting him. Parking his car across the street from his friend's posh apartment, he has to take a few breaths before stepping out of the car, rounding the front and leaning against the passenger side.

 

Arms pressed tightly together, he fears it's not Michigan's bitter air that cause it, but his nerves. To say that Leo was nervous was an understatement. At every spare moment, he's praying to God that his big day will end well, that him and Vincent get back on good terms.

 

But maybe they will be. Vincent wasn't angry and Leo wasn't either, so he's sure they'll do well together. That they'll share a friendship again. Even if Leo wants more than that.

 

However, he thinks it's best for the both of them he shoved those hopes deep into the abyss of his mind.

 

More time passes on. Right when the air is beginning to bite at Leo's bones, he hears someone's door close and upon looking up, he's regarded with a familiar face.

 

There Vincent is just a few paces away, dressed in a Cal Craft jacket over a gaudy paisley shirt, wearing a smile that makes Leo's heart flutter.

 

He grins, keeping his greeting simple; "Hey."

 

"Hello," his friend responds.

 

Vincent makes his way across the street and Leo couldn't restrain himself; he has his arms out reaching for his comrade-in-arms right when the man gets close. Snatching the man up in his arms, Leo's glee only blossoms when he finds the latter man is all but too happy to return the unexpected affection. Their embrace is tender and genuine for the long moment they hold onto each other, giggling in each other's shoulders.

 

Both man is beaming even after they’ve split apart.

 

"Man, am I glad to see you," Leo's hands squeeze at Vincent's shoulders.

 

"Me too," Vincent says. "You doing alright?"

 

"Just fine," Leo nods. Vincent smiles at that and soon his hands leave the other man's waist. Leo couldn't deny he was already missing their closeness.

 

"So," Vincent began. "Where to?"

 

Leo thought a moment before suggesting they could start out getting a bite to eat at a diner, preferably on the outskirts of town where it isn't too crowded. Vincent didn't oppose the idea, so diner they went.

 

The smell of bacon and coffee wafted around them right when the pair walked inside. The 9 o'clock sun beamed on the polished booths and it was reassuringly quiet, even with the jukebox playing a soft soul rhythm. It gave Leo the peaceful aesthetic he was looking for.

 

There were plentiful booths to choose from, as most people were sitting at the bar. The pair thought to sit in a corner, getting comfy there and patiently waiting for a waitress to arrive. She hadn't took long, thankfully. The smell of coffee beans urged Leo to get a cup of joe, with plenty of sugar and creamer. Vincent wanted coffee too, only black.

 

In only a few moments, it was fetched and brought to them, freshly brewed.

 

Leo took a sip, meanwhile deciding he'd initiate conversation. "So," he began. "How are things?"

 

"Fine," Vincent informed with a smirk.

 

"And the kid?" Leo continued. "You know you never told me what you named her."

 

"Well, it was Carol who named her, not me," Vincent said. "Julie Ann. She's sprouting like a weed."

 

Leo smiled. "Cute name. How old is she now?"

 

"She's turning four soon."

 

Leo chortled. "Damn! Time really flies. I remember being as small as my pinky toe. I bet you feel old, don't it?"

 

Vincent chuckled. "I was already old." Both men snickered some at that before taking a coffee break.

 

"She's just like me when I was a kid too," Vincent sits his cup down with a light tap, smiling at a memory. "Spoiled and rotten as ever."

 

"They say that's a good thing," Leo said. "Means she's taking advantage of her childhood while she still has it."

 

Vincent hummed. "'Guess you're right. What about Alex? How's he?"

 

"Oh, he's just fine," Leo tapped his finger on the table. "Making the best out of what he has. He's way more optimistic about things than me and Linda, I assure you."

 

He takes another sip out of his sugary coffee. Looking up, he sees his friend's head canted a little. "Why do you say that?" he says. "Is everything okay?"

 

"Peachy," Leo says. "Just ain't had much money circulating is all. But it's not a problem. We have each other and that's all that matters."

 

Vincent nodded. "That's a good mentality to have. How's he doing in school?"

 

Leo paused a moment, staring at his tan-colored beverage. "We haven't been able to get him into school yet, what with us moving around so much," he informs. "We get him a book every now and then, and he reads it. Not for long though— he gets up to watch TV ten seconds in."

 

Vincent chuckled. "I see. Well, I'm sure you'll get out of your struggle somehow. You're a clever guy."

 

Leo smirked. “Thanks.”

 

Another pause fell between them, the two sipping at their half-spent beverages and staring out the window, watching the bright cars pass by.

 

"Hey," Vincent began and Leo looked up from his arms folded on the table. "I forgot to tell you that letter worked."

 

Leo stared a moment, trying to think of a way to drop the subject, but he didn't want to be selfish. He faked a smile. "Did it?"

 

"Yeah," Vincent said. "I gave it to her after I handed in my resignation to the bureau. We're much closer now, as close as we should've been. I wanted to thank you."

 

"No need to," Leo smirked. "That's what friends are for, right?"

 

Vincent concurred, meanwhile Leo was wallowing in his irrational jealousy. He didn't want to hear her name, or to be aware of her existence, but before he lets his envy get the best of him, he shoves it at the back of his mind. He wasn't going to ruin this, not for him or for his partner.

 

The pair finish their coffee and natters a little longer at the diner before their next destination becomes their topic of discussion. Vincent suggested something this time: a walk in the park. Leo worried it'd be too cold, but his friend managed to convince him. The colder it is, the less people.

 

They took the car and parked somewhere discreet, much like they would three years earlier. Leo supposed it became habit.

 

The air was a little less bitter now that the morning passed, but still cool. The denim on Leo's jacket paired with the fur of Vincent's kept them both warm enough. The pair decided to stay close to generate enough heat.

 

"Huh," Leo began. "You were right: there's hardly anyone out today."

 

"I know," Vincent said. "Me and my brother used to go walking in this type of weather, just to avoid the crowds."

 

Hearing that put a smile on Leo's face, and at the same time reared a question in his mind, something he'd been wanting to ask for a while.

 

"Speaking of which," he began. "Can I.. Can I ask you something?"

 

Vincent looked up at him, as he noticed the hesitation in his voice. "Sure. What is it?"

 

Leo put their walking to a halt, turning to face Vincent. His friend had done the same.

 

Leo felt horrible for asking, but he had to know. He took numerous breaths before asking.

 

"Did Harvey actually kill your brother?"

 

Vincent just stared at him, the stare held for much longer than Leo liked. He looked away, kicking the gravel below

him.

 

"I'm sorry if I—"

 

"No, it's fine," Vincent stopped him. "He did, yes."

 

Leo had observed his friend carefully. He could see the droop in his posture, the pain in his expression and it made him feel awful.

 

"I—..I only asked because—"

 

"I know why you asked."

 

Vincent finally looked up from his feet, his solemn eyes scoping out their surroundings until he says, "Here, come sit down." He walks to a bench not far from where they stood and Leo followed.

 

Quiet once returned between them, meanwhile Leo bites back the urge to hit himself. He swallows. "I'm sorry."

 

"Don't apologize. Please."

 

Leo purses his lips, forcing himself to shut up. Meanwhile, his friend lets out a deep sigh.

 

"Gary was a good man," Vincent says in a solemn rumble. "Didn't deserve to die the way he did. It was my fault

too."

 

Leo frowned. "I'm sure it wasn't—"

 

"It was," Vincent bit. "If I hadn't thrown him at Harvey, he would still be here. I used him as bait and it got him a bullet in the damn head. It should've been me in that garage. It should've been me killed."

 

"Damn," Leo mumbles after a pause. "I hate to hear you talk like that."

 

Vincent huffs. "Sorry," he says. "I just keep thinking that his death could have easily been avoided had I not been a..

fucking klutz."

 

"You weren't being a klutz, man," Leo says. "You were just following orders."

 

"That doesn't change anything," Vincent mumbles. "At the end of the day, he's dead and it's my fault."

 

He sighs again. "I'm sorry to be a downer, it's just.. I miss him. I miss him a lot."

 

"Don't worry about it," Leo says.

 

Suddenly, Vincent lets out chuckle that doesn't sound happy. "You'd think that after taking Harvey down I'd get over it, but.. the pain is still fresh in my mind, like it happened yesterday. I guess you never truly get over a loved one's death, do you?"

 

Leo shrugs. "I wouldn't know. Still, I can't imagine how hard it must be for you."

 

Vincent nodded. "It is. It's hard. Very hard." he stares back down at his feet. "Too hard."

 

Leo decides not to respond, but to let his friend have a moment, allow the autumn breeze cover the silence between them. The pair remain there for a good fifteen minutes before Leo offers to take Vincent some place where he could unwind. His friend hadn't turned the offer down.

 

A bit of driving around before they settled at a placid lake, miles away from town. It was a little foggy but not uninviting. Leo parked them not too far from shore, Vincent stepping out first.

 

Leo followed with Pall Malls in hand. "Want a smoke?"

 

Vincent let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you'd never ask."

 

Brief laughter is shared between them before Leo pulls out two cigarettes from the pack, dispersing them. It only occurred to Leo then that he left his lighter in the car, but thankfully, Vincent had a lighter conveniently stashed in his pocket. He lit his own smoke before lighting Leo's up for him.

 

Helping themselves to their cigarettes, they walked a few paces away from the car, sitting close enough to the lake. They had a seat in the sand, quietly observing the murky lake before them.

 

Leo tugged some on his smoke and watched smoke escape his mouth before Leo broke the silence between them that wasn't unnerving for once. "You okay?" he asked Vincent.

 

He nodded. "Don't have a reason not to be, I guess." he tugged at his cigarette. Smoke escaped his nostrils as he spoke again. "What about you?"

 

"What about me?" Leo frowned.

 

"Well, I was hoping you weren't thinking into your situation too much," Vincent said. "About what you talked about this morning."

 

"What's there to think about?" Leo shrugged. "Things didn't turn out the way I wanted, but.. shit happens, you know?"

 

"What things?" Vincent questioned. "If you don't mind me asking?"

 

Leo took a moment to puff his cigarette, letting out a sigh. "I'm not supposed to be here. I was supposed to be in a different country, making not only my life better, but my family's. Instead, I'm hiding everywhere, dragging my family deeper into the mess I started."

 

He shakes his head. "Linda's working two jobs in order to keep the apartment, and even that's not bringing enough money home. We only have enough for bills. We've been trying to save up to leave, but we just end up using it for some other bullshit. And Alex— the poor bastard.. he's ten years old and still hasn't had a lick of education."

 

"I'm sorry to hear that," Vincent says. "Must be hard to deal with."

 

"Fucking agony," Leo groans. "It always sucks knowing it's you bringing you down and not the government."

 

Vincent hummed. The lake's waves lulled over yet another quiet between them. They finished their smokes and ashed them in the sand.

 

"You know," Leo began. "I dunno how to explain why, but.. it's kinda'.. comforting that we've both been through shit."

 

Vincent smiled at him, sweetly. "Probably because we can be ourselves the most when we're together."

 

"Yeah," Leo nodded. "Maybe that's why I felt out of place the last couple years. I missed my bud."

 

"Didn't think I was still your bud after what I had done to you," Vincent said.

 

Leo stared at his feet. "That was.. bad. But then, I tried to kill you, so.. guess we were both out of hand that day, huh?"

 

"The only difference is you were justified in lashing out," Vincent said. "I did you wrong that night, and every day before."

 

"Vincent, you were only doing what you were told."

 

"Doesn't mean anything. Things should've played differently. I wish I did different."

 

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want you different," Leo interjected. "I like you the way you are."

 

The words come out quicker than Leo can register. The pair holds a stare for a long moment before Vincent smiles, his russet eyes riddled with vulnerability. "Thank you," he says. "I'll try to remember that."

 

Leo smiles back, the want to hold the broken man before him oozing out of him but he tries to restrain himself. The way Vincent looked and the way he spoke just now created suspicion in Leo, but he won't dwell on it too much. He wasn't going to hold on to false hope.

 

With that thought, he looks anywhere but Vincent. Catching glimpse of the dusk sky, he checks the time.

 

"Damn," he marvels. "It's already half past six?"

 

"Oh," Vincent sighs. "Well, I guess we'll have to cut this short. I promised Carol I'd be home by seven."

 

Leo looked up. "Why's that?"

 

"Well, we're leaving soon," his friend informs. "To Colorado. Carol's had her eye there for a while and she thinks it might be good for Julie, so I didn't see why not."

 

Leo felt his soul leave his body. "Really? When?"

 

"Monday night, I think."

 

Leo’s shoulders droop. So soon?

 

"Well, come on," Vincent stands, swiping sand off his pants. "We better get going."

 

Leo follows suit, feeling as empty as ever. He's only just seen Vincent and he's already leaving him.

 

Leo drives Vincent back to his apartment, the drive long and a little quiet. The driver couldn't really find any strength in him to initiate conversation. His heart might've been too heavy.

 

Them being so far from town, the moon had painted the sky a deep indigo by the time Leo made it to Vincent's home. He parked across the street from his friend's unit. Looking up, he felt worse seeing a window beaming with light compared to the rest of the ill-lit rooms. He knew it was Carol. The woman Vincent would be running off with.

 

Leo turns the car off out of habit, the rumble of the engine hushing and what replaces it is the night's ambiance. He slumps in his seat, and is surprised to find Vincent do the same instead of stepping out, his arm propped up on the siding of the passenger door.

 

Leo looks at him. "So," he begins. "How was that? D'you have fun?"

 

Vincent hummed. "I always have fun with you," his hand rested on his forehead. "I am sad our fun has to end so soon though. I wanted more time with you."

 

"Well, we could always call each other, write each other, if that's still a thing." Leo smiled, though inwardly he was grimacing: he knew that wouldn't happen, but Vincent nodding gave him a little hope that it could.

 

"I'd like that," Vincent said. "So we can keep up with each other. You could tell me when you're fixed."

 

Leo snickered. "If only."

 

"I'm confident you will," his friend says. "You're a smart guy, always has a trick up his sleeve. You'll catch up, I know it."

 

"And what about you?" Leo asks. "How will you get on, without your goon by your side?"

 

Vincent chuckled before he paused a moment, his fingers tapping on his thigh. "I'm not sure, really."

 

He paused before speaking again; "I missed you, you know. Not a day went by where I didn't think about you, how you were doing."

 

Leo could hear his heartbeat in his ears. "Those three years were hard for you too?"

 

"Of course," said Vincent. "I lost another person I cared about. That's hard on anybody."

 

Leo swallowed. "And.. will you miss me now?"

 

Vincent's eyes fell back down to his fingers. "I will. Very much."

 

Leo paused a moment, trying to believe he heard those words.

 

"Yeah, well.. I'll miss you too, Vincent. More than anything."

 

Hush came back between them, crickets ringing outside their vehicle, before Vincent nodded. Without saying a word, he solemnly reached for the door.

 

Leo caught him by the wrist. He sighs.

 

"I'm not ready for you to leave."

 

Vincent leaned back into the passenger seat, meanwhile the pair's hands locked together.

 

"I'm not ready to leave either."

 

Right when their eyes meet, the passion in the air is thick and Leo throws his hand on the nape of Vincent's neck, pulling him in. His lips clamp over the latter man's. Right away, the kiss is fervent.

 

For a split second, Leo pulls his lips away, tugging Vincent's hands on his waist, granting him room to wrap his arms around his shoulders. Leo meets his counterpart’s prickly lips again, their noses clashing.

 

There's a rough grip on Leo's hips that has him melting, and one hand going lower still. Vincent slides his frigid hand up his bare back and Leo sighs in beau's mouth, both their bodies curling into each other. Leo's clammy hands get tangled in locks of brown hair.

 

Leo loses himself in the moist lips he pulls and tugs at, no longer hearing the crickets in the night, but the sound of their kiss. The rustling of clothes, the caress of skin. Vincent's growls and Leo's moans.

 

Time slowed for the duration of their kiss, and so did their hearts. Oxygen was quickly leaving them and soon they yanked apart, lips wet and swollen, breathing heavily for air.

 

Leo huffed, his hands on Vincent's broad chest. A mess of a kiss; jackets were slanting off shoulders, hair so evenly put together were now mussed, collars crooked and shirts almost unbuttoned. Both of their faces were flushed with blood at the overwhelming, maybe scary energy pent up and finally released after years, but Leo was so high off his excitement that he failed to care. It was Vincent's love, and he was elated to receive it.

 

Leo moved in for another one, one more gentle and tender, but Vincent had moved his head farther down. He tried again, cupping his beau's cheek and it was then that his lover complied.

 

Leo worshipped the prickly yet velvety lips against his, only pulling away when he noticed those lips barely moved. Leo parted from them and looked up at Vincent through his thick eyelashes.

 

Vincent closed his eyes. "We're putting ourselves in an impossible situation."

 

Leo frowned. "What?"

 

Vincent sighed, his voice a low rumble. "We can't do this, Leo. You know we can't— there's no point in denying it—"

 

"No, Vincent," Leo desperately cupped his lover's face. "Don't give up on me now, please." Drifting closer to Vincent’s mouth, he whispers against his lips, "Let me be with you."

 

But Vincent pulls away, removing the hands on his hollow cheeks and pinning them to his chest.

 

Leo lets out a shaky breath. "You don't want me, do you?"

 

"Of course I want you, Leo," Vincent says. "Everything in me wants you, but.. you know this isn't fair. It isn't fair to Carol, to Linda, to anyone."

 

Leo felt his heart withering at every word. He would've fought further for Vincent's affection, for him to stay— everything in him told him to, but he didn't. Vincent was right. They could never be together and Leo should've known that. They've made lives of themselves that they aren’t able to escape from.

 

It's agony having to accept that fact.

 

Vincent brought Leo's hand up to his lips, planting a long kiss on a knuckle. "I’m sorry," he whispered against skin. "I’m sorry.”

 

Leo felt a familiar sting in his eyes seeing his lover like that, head bowed against his hand, looking as guilty as he sounded. A weight lured its way onto Leo's chest.

 

It was the end of their story.

 

Leo let his head fall to meet Vincent's, bringing the couple close in their final moments.

 

He wanted to be held one last time.

 

\--

 

The next four days progressed like four years. Leo had been in terrible grief, of course behind closed doors and turned backs. He hadn't told Linda all the details of the outing, and whenever she questioned, he told her it was exactly as it was: an outing. Nothing more to it. Leo refused to crack about it, not only to maintain a little dignity, but for his family's sake. Alex was oblivious thankfully, and it was easy to forget it about Saturday's folly with the boy. Not so much with Linda; she knew him too well, but despite her persistent efforts to get her husband to open up, he shut down the inquiries fast. Leo was fine and that was the end of it.

 

It was overcast that Tuesday morning. The whole family was there for once, as Linda took a day off to get away from her gloomy jobs, even if it was just for a bit. She was tired, but nevertheless she got Alex and Leo up just in time for brunch. She made fried baloney and egg sandwiches. Everyone drank water with a few cubes in their cups.

 

Leo took one measly bite out of a corner, and left it alone afterward. His appetite was long gone.

 

The family continued to eat, small talk every now and then, until a knock came at the door.

 

Leo sits his glass down. "I'll get it."

 

"No, I'll get it," Linda stands from the table and walks out of the small dining room. She was gone for a few minutes before she came back, an envelope in hand.

 

"It's for you, baby," she says, dropping the envelope before Leo. He eyed it intently.

 

In its center, it had doctor-like handwriting that read, "To Leo."

 

Brow furrowed, he picked it up, tugging at the seams with his index finger. When he found it was ineffective, he started getting curious.

 

Feeling inside, Leo stood to fetch a knife, severing through the paper until he got inside.

 

The moment he peered in, his heart stopped.

 

Two thick wads of money and a letter.

 

"What is it?"

 

Leo looked up at Linda, his heart pounding in his ears. "Hang on, lemme—"

 

"Hang on." He scurried off, out of the dining room and into the master bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Instantly he reaches for the bed because his knees were starting to feel like water.

 

Holding the envelope in his calloused palms, he stares at it buck-eyed. Who the hell—?

 

But after a pause, he swallowed and tentatively took the creased letter out of the envelope. Unfolding the thin paper, he stood from the bed, pacing around the room as he read.

 

_It isn't much, but it's all I could manage to take out of my pension. I know you might not want this, but you must take it._

 

_Make a life of yourself. Invent a past. Give your family a better life because they're the ones that matter. I know this isn't what you wanted. I don't want it either. I'm paining even as I write this to you, but our families have more to lose than us._

 

_It'd make me very happy if I know you and your family are safe. Please live a good life for me, as I will try for you._

 

_Yours forever,_

_Vincent_

 

"Leo?"

 

Leo whipped around, hiding the letter behind him. He didn't even hear Linda open the door.

 

Worry plastered her face. "Are you okay?"

 

Leo opened his mouth to reassure, but unfortunately he didn't have it in him. Instead his eyes fell toward the open envelope on the foot of the bed.

 

Linda followed his gaze and immediately snatched it up. She peeks inside and, similar to Leo, her eyes buck wide and her jaw drops.

 

"Oh my god," she whispers. The money is ripped from the envelope and is held in her hands like it's new found gold. "Oh my god! Leo— this.. this is enough to get us out of here! Holy shit!"

 

Her hand clamps over her mouth. "Holy shit," she says. "Babe, w-where? Where did you get this from?"

 

"It's from Vincent," he says, drearily. "A goodbye gift, I guess."

 

Linda chortled. Still baffled, she cards a hand in her hair. "Holy shit," she whispers again.

 

Leo swallows a heavy lump, sitting down on the window sill.

 

"I don't want it."

 

Linda looked up, her smile still there. "What?" she giggles.

 

A familiar sting attacks Leo's eyes. "I don't want it."

 

His wife is silent for a moment, her hand dropping to her side. She huffs. "Leo, what are you talking about? We've been working so hard to get this, and now we finally have it, don't you see? We can finally escape!"

 

Leo shakes his head. "I don't fucking want it," he persists.

 

"Leo," his wife says after a pause. "Leo, what's the matter with you? This is awesome news!"

 

"I don't want to leave him."

 

Linda paused. "Leave him?" she questioned as she snickered. "Leave who? Vincent?"

 

"No, the goddamn mailman." Leo crosses his arms, staring down at his feet.

 

"Babe," his wife began again after another pause. "We planned this, for years. We did this together, you and I! We were gonna leave this shithole country and start a new life. What— do you not remember that?"

 

"I do remember it."

 

"Then what the fuck is your problem? Why have you been so standoffish with me? Is there something you're not telling me?"

 

Leo remained silent, scared he'd break. He bounced his leg to try and calm his nerves.

 

Linda put her hands over her hips. "Ever since Saturday, you've been acting different. What exactly happened that day? I mean, did you guys have a one-night stand and you got attached or some shit?"

 

"No—!" Leo spat.

 

"Then what happened?"

 

"Nothing happened."

 

"Obviously something did if ever since then you've been acting like a asshole with me."

 

Leo sighed heavily as his hands rubbed hard against his face. "Look," he began, lowly. "We fucking kissed, alright? That's all."

 

Linda canted her head. ".. _Kissed_?"

 

"That's what I said, ain't it?"

 

His wife took a while to answer. "..Like mouth to mouth?"

 

Leo huffed. "What other kind of other kissing is there, Linda?"

 

"Well, shit, I'm sorry if I sound dumb," Linda spoke condescendingly. "I just find it hard to fathom that the man I've been married to for thirteen years suddenly has his heart stolen by a Narc."

 

Leo didn't respond, just continued to bob his leg up and down, arms crossed and brows furrowed trying not to break.

 

"I mean," Linda began. "Did you have an affair? I-I just feel like that's easier for me to accept."

 

Leo's eyes squeezed shut. "No."

 

"Then I'm not understanding how you just do that," the words spill out of her quick. "Be married and committed to me only to become some cop's lackey. I just don't get that."

 

Again, Leo didn't respond.

 

"I mean, is he _that_ nice? Is he so appealing that you just forget that you have a wife and kid waiting for you and is thinking about you always?"

 

No response.

 

"Are you seriously gonna put a cop you've known for three months over the woman you've known your whole damn life?"

 

"I'm not putting anyone over anything!" Leo jumped up. "I just—"

 

"What, Leo? You what?" Linda spat back. "You liked the way he petted you? The way he rubbed you right? What?"

 

"I loved him!" Leo screamed. "There! Is that what the fuck you wanted to hear?"

 

His hands were quivering, his face beet red and his eyes glossy. Linda stared back, fire in her eyes.

 

"You _loved_ him?" her eyes turned into slits.

 

"Yeah, I fucking loved him," Leo's voice quavered. "I loved a fucking Narc— a goddamn man. What the fuck of it?"

 

The color of Linda's face mimicked in color. "More than your own damn wife?"

 

"No!" Leo screamed again.

 

Then his shoulders slumped. "No," he crooned.

 

Leo's chest gained weight, and the fight in him quickly evaporated. He swallowed a defined lump. "Maybe."

 

Soul leaving his body, the facade he got into the habit of hiding under broke. After a long pause under his wife's fiery gaze, he felt humiliated and heartbroken all the same.

 

Leo blinked once and the tear just fell. "..Yes," he whined.

 

His pout lurched out of him and when he found he couldn't hold in any more tears pouring from his eyes, he bowed his head. "Fucking hell.."

 

It was stifled, but his outcry, his soul-gripping shriek slipped out and finally he collapsed on the ground, his calloused palms cradling his head as he coated his palms with snot and tears.

 

Surprisingly enough, he felt arms wrap around him not too long after, and he held the small body back, letting his head fall right on its shoulder.

 

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm sorry."

 

He felt a hand on his nape and not too long after a pair of lips against his ear. "Don't be silly, please. Don't be silly."

 

Leo was a brokenhearted man, and somehow Linda understood, if only a little.

 

She let her husband grieve over an intense love a little while longer, supporting him and caring for him like a sick child, helping him forget. Thankfully, her efforts were not in vain and eventually Vincent Moretti was a distant memory. Three more months had came and went and finally, after packing what little they had, they traveled across the border.

 

The Caruso's settled in the province of Manitoba in a quiet suburban neighborhood. There, Leo could finally get a job in a significant factory as a janitor. The money was good, and his employers were naive enough to believe his name was Mark Robinson.

 

Linda got a job as a secretary, away from the gas station and the markets. She was adamant about being done with retail, and Leo saw no opposition in it. It paid well, better than Leo's job, and soon the Caruso's, now Robinson's, were a typical nuclear family, inside and out.

 

Alex had finally received schooling. The boy got used to public schools, gained a reputation, and did surprisingly well, graduating with honor. He grew up to be as handsome as Leo was his age, and just as ambitious. The young man got a degree in nursing and ended up in his desired profession. He even married at a decent age, to a blonde girl who was boisterous and optimistic. Leo and Linda got a kick out of her.

 

By 1986, the Robinson's were as happy as they could've ever been, back on their feet. Alex kept up with his old man and his dear mama, and they kept up with him. He even granted them a grandchild they adored. The new decade blessed the family with privileges they thought they'd never have.

 

This is what has a fifty year old man smiling at the morning skyline in his backyard, sitting on the porch of a decent house. His wife remained in bed and his son, away in Vancouver, had promised that day he'd give them a call later to catch them up on his life being a dad, a husband, and a nurse with an impeccable reputation.

 

Canting his head back against the cushion of his rocking chair, Leo shut his eyes and smiled. He did right by his family and lived a good life, just like Vincent had told him to. He had hoped his old pal had done the same.

 

Suddenly, a sigh escapes him as his eyes open, the cirrus clouds glancing back at him.

 

He wondered how he was doing.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed this ending. It was hella fun to write, in fact, the whole story was an honor to write. And I am even more honored to have y'all as my fans. I appreciate all the loving comments I have gotten and all kudos, and all bookmarks (and subscriptions. i ain't leavin y'all out). This fandom, however small, is amazing, and I'm proud to be a part of it.
> 
> Thank you so very much for reading all of my bullshit. I can assure you, I VERY MUCH appreciate your troubles, lol.
> 
> Again, thank you!! :))
> 
> (and i'm sorry for all the terrible update lengths. if ever i write another fic on these two (which i prolly will), it'll happen again. i sowwy luv you bb)


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